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CINCINNATI: 

lOBlNSON AND JONES 

1847. 



ADYEXTURES 



MEXICO: 

e:lprrienced during a captititt of seven 
months en' the interior— hates'g been cap- 
TURED AT CAiLlRGO. BY CANALES' BaND OF 
GLTIRRILLAS, WITH TWO OTHER A31ERI- 
CAN CITIZENS— ^LIRCHED TO VAL- 
LAl>3iUrJ. BEYOND THE CITY OF 
MEXECO, ANT> 

SOLD IXTO SLIVESI: 



CONTArVTvn- AN- ACCOCyr O? THZm TREAT3rErr PCRrVG CAPTIVITT-ES:- 
PEDinoy TC' TEE DfTEiUOa— A VAiU:iTT OF RT'MA^TI': DfCE^E^TS AMD 
AI»TEN-TL"EIES— OESCSIPTIOJf OF THE COL.NTiiY— ITS SCtL. CLIMATE. 
AVD ?E.uDUCTIO>fS. RESOCHCES. yATrBAL CTHJOSITIES. AND 
A5na.CTrTE,S— CtTIES. TOW^fS. HACtEXDA;?. A>rD H-1>XE0S— 
WEALTH OF THE CHUSCHES. AXQ DTFLCE^fCE OF THE 
CL£HGY-<iOTEH>f>tE>n: AND PEOPLE-TEETR >LO'- 
XEKS AND E-\fiITS. SOCL^L RELATIONS. DOiMEi:- 
TIC LIFE ANT) A>fUSE>rENTS— DESCRIPTION;; 
OF THE BATTLE-AiROUNDS — FINAL ES- 
CAPE. ANT) PERILOC"? JOCRNEY TO 
TEE UNTTED STATED — WTTE A 
VIEW OF THE PRESENT WAR, 

AND THE ULTEVIATE DESTINY OF THE COUNTRY. 



BY C: DONNIYAX. 



' CINCINNATI: 
PUBLISHED BY ROBINSON & JON'ES. 

14S7. 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1847, 

BY C. DONNAVAN, 

In the Clerk's OiSce for the District Court of Ohio. 



E. SIIEPARD, 

STEREOTYPER AND PRINTER, 

Columbia street. 



PEEFACE. 



On his return to the United States, the Author had not 
conceived the idea of presenting to the pubhc a narrative 
of his adventures, especially in this form. True, he expe- 
rienced nluch which was of great moment and peculiar 
interest to himself, yet he was loth to reconcile the belief, 
even upon the repeated assurances of his friends, that he 
should be able to interest others. To what extent he may 
have merited the partiality of those friends, the public will 
now have an opportunity to judge. The fact that numerous 
publications, already scattered over the States, purporting to 
describe the people, country, and mstitutions of a land to 
whose destiny all eyes seem now eagerly tinned, is a cir- 
cumstance foreboding the spirit of distrust in which a new 
production may be received. And in a narrative of this 
character, the public are. apt to anticipate that national or 
mdividual prepossessions may produce an unfavorable effect 
upon the writer — that mere prejudice or passion may direct 
his thoughts or color his language. Indeed, it is no easy 
task to assure such a work against such an influence ; and 
although the Author's treatment, while a prisoner, served to 
impress upon him no very high esteem or favorable regard 



IV PREFACE. 

for those who held him in bondage contrary to all rules of 
civilization, it does not follow that he should hazard his 
reputation by venturing upon any intentional misstatement 
of material facts. It is natural, in depicting outrages inflict- 
ed by relentless oppressors, that the writer should evince, in 
some degree, those higher passions and sentiments which 
alone could have incited and sustained him in the dark 
days of trial, yet he does not deem himself justified in per- 
mitting his individual wrongs to impart a biased coloring or 
vindictive spirit to his narrative. Under such considerations 
he has endeavored to observe a proper degree of restraint 
and moderation, and to suppress any unjust feeling of resent- 
ment for those whom he has every reason to censure. With 
no pretension to profound views of men or events, nor to 
any elaborate elegance of diction, he has aimed at simplicity 
and truth, rather than striven to be ambitious for effect. 
From imperfect notes, sketched during the period of his cap- 
tivity, and from memory, he has endeavored to present, in 
an abridged form, that which he conceives will be of most 
interest. The manuscript, as originally written out, was 
found to be too voluminous, and as it contained much of a 
strictly personal nature, was curtailed to suit the dimensions 
in which the work appears. This will account, in some 
measure, for the apparent abruptness of certain portions of 
the narrative. The writer had not the vanity to presume 
that a long and tedious detail of his private sufferings would 
elicit public attention, beyond the mere circle of his acquain- 
tance, severe as those sufferings were. Satisfied, therefore, 



PREFACE. V 

in alluding as briefly as practicable to his individual priva- 
tions, he has dwelt more upon the resources of the country, 
descriptions of scenery, its soil, climate, and productions 
character, manners, and customs of the people — relating only 
such incidents connected with his own adventures, as may 
be relished by the general reader. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Departure for Mexico — Arrival at Brazos — Description of Country — Naviga- 
tion of the Rio Grande— Trip up the River — Reynosa — Camargo — Mier and 
its Natural Advantages — Stock — Description of Country, Timber, and Pro- 
ductions — Guerrero — Scenery — Curiosity of tlie Natives — Hospitality of 
the Authorities — Springs — Dwelling Houses — Coal Mines — Silver Ore, &c. 
— A Crooked River — Geological Specimens — Departure for Matamoras. — 
page 15. 

CHAPTER U. 

Return to Matamoras — Creole Fever — Treatment — Recovery — Barry and Cun- 
ningham — Visit to Palo Alto — Burial of a Soldier — Impressions — Arrival of 
Volunteers — Speculations — Gambling — Gen. Taylor's Orders — His Personal 
Appearance — Anecdote of a Dutchman — Great Thirst forGlorj- — Traveling 
on the Rio Grande — Mexican Women — Anecdote of Lieutenant Deans — Cos- 
tume of the Women — Rancheros — Their Appearance and Dress. — page 18. 

CHAPTER HI. 

A Hunting Excursion — Capture — Journey to Mier — Picking Pockets — Ap- 
pearance and Character of Canales — The First Night of Captivity — Novel 
Interview with one of the Rancheros — Sentence of Death — Mexican Char- 
acter — Interference in our Behalf — Sentence Reversed — Our Fate Revealed. 
— page 24. 

CHAPTER IV. 

March for Ceralvo — Diet — Pinto Indians — Insults — New Jewelry — Sympathy 
among the Dutch — Road to Carmillo — Scenery — Hacienda of San Matero 
— Ancient Ruins — Slavery iii Mexico — Arrival at Carmillo — Beauty and 
Amusements — A Robber Pursuing an ludian — A Mountain Pass — Death 
among the Mustangs — Desolation of a Rancho — Arrival at Monclova — Fail- 
ure to Sell Prisoners — Confinement in Prison — Appearance of the Prison 
and Inmates — A Mier Prisoner — Reflections, &c. — page 37. 

CHAPTER V. 

Release from Prison at Monclova — Punishment of Criminals — Advance of 
Gen. Wool's Army — Our Departure for Zacatecas — Mexican Expresses — 



X TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Parras — Novel Funeral Procession — Burial of a Muchacha — Lake of Par- 
ras — Rio Grande de Parras — Diet — Mosquitos — Degradation of Females — 
Implements of Husbandry — An Indian City — Indian Fortifications — Indian 
Women — Captured by the Indians — Crossing a River — Attempt to Escape — 
Drowning of a Ranchero — Towns and Cities — Fresnillo — Catholic Proces- 
sion — Arrival at Zacatecas. — page 37. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Zacatecas — Peace Party — American Citizens — Their Hospitality — Our Re- 
lease — Contemplated Return — A Mexican Editor. — page 47. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Mexican opinion of Yankees — Buildings in Zacatecas — Customs — Merchant's 
Shops — Business — Auction Sales — Petty Theives and their Punishment- 
Gambling — Lotteries — Sunday Entertainments — Churches — Cathedral and 
its Ornaments — Praying for a Husband — Bull Fights — Death of a Picadore 
—Cock Fighting— Extent of Silver Mines — Gold Dust — Natural Cave — 
Geological Specimens — Iron, Copper, and Coal Mines — Garden of Don 
Alonzo Gomeres — Huaco Plant, its Appearance and Discovery — Manufac- 
tures in the City — Politics — Jose Maria Lafragua — Government — Cruelties 
of Santa Anna — Barbarous execution of a young Female. — page 50. 

CHAPTER VIIL 

Impending Difficulties — Santa Anna at San Luis Potosi — Priests Heading 
Guerrilla Parties — Arrival of a Detachment from Santa Anna's Army — 
Recaptured by the Mexicans — Arrest of Citizens of Zacatecas — March to 
San Luis Potosi — Mexican Soldiers and their Manner of Enlisting — City 
and Prison of San Luis Potosi — Execution — Mode of Inflicting Capital 
Punishment — Invitation to Join the Mexican Army — Our Indignant Refusal 
— Departure for Acapulco — Estate of Joral — Dolores — City and Churches of 
Guanajuato. — page CO. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Arrival at Valladolid — Curiosity of the Citizens — A French Publisher Ilis 

History — Another Sentence of Death — Negotiation for our Release "Bar- 
gain and Intrigue " — Sold into Slavery — Mexican Character — Our Price — 
Dr. Barry — A Mexican Printing Office — Spanish Printers — El Republicano 
— Support and Character of Mexican Newspapers. — page 65. 

CHAPTER X, 

City of Valladolid — Climate and Productions — ^Volcano of Jorullo — New Theo- 
ry of the Gulf Stream — Christmas — Buildings in the City — Customs of the 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. XI 

Inhabitants — Matrimonial Intrigues — Music — Governor of Mechoacan, and 
his Plan of Warfare — Ignorance of a Mexican Editor in Regard to the 

United States — Corwin's Speech — News of the Battle of Buena Vista 

Great Rejoicing — Sentiments of the Masses. — page 69. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Easter and its Amusements — Visit to the Cathedral — Description of the Edifice 
— Our Employment — The Spanish Alphabet — Change in Discipline — Im- 
provement in Diet — Masticating Monkeys — The Ladies — Their Hospitality 
and Accomplishments — Love and its doings. — page 74. 

CHAPTER XIL 

News of the Investment of Vera Cruz — Battle of Cerro Gordo — Character of 
Cunningham — Influence of Love — Unfavorable Change in Treatment — 
Escape from Valladolid — Passing the Gates — Departure for Queretaro— To- 
matoes — A Rancho — Hospitality of the Women — Baking Tortillas — As- 
sumption of a New Character — Rio Grande de Santiago — Banyan Trees — 
Mountain Scenery — An American Physician, his Character and Kindness: — 
Education of Lizards — City of Queretaro — A Mexican Diligence — Arrival 
at the City of Mexico. — page 78. 

CHAPTER Xni. 

City of Mexico — Public Grounds — ^Public Buildings — The Mint — Coining 
Gold — Hotels — Theaters — Newspaper Press of the City — Literature — So- 
ciety — Manners and Customs — Dress — Suburbs — Cemetery — Population, 
&c. — page 83. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Major Borland — Public Sentiment in the City — Departure for Puebla — Pass at 
Rio Frio — Temple of the Sun — City of Puebla — Manufactories — Public 
Buildings — Cathedral — Investment of the City — Gen. Worth — DisafFec- 
tion among the Soldiers — Assassinations — Murder of an American Officer 
in a Convent — Perote— -Army under Gen. Scott — Jalapa — Battle Ground of 
Cerro Gordo — National Road and Bridge — Col. Sowers — Vera Cruz — Castle 
of San Juan — Passage across the Gulf — Island of Lobos — Arrival in the 
United States — Barry and Cunningham. — page 91. 

CHAPTER XV. 

Mexico— Extent of Territory— Soil— Climate — Maguey Plant— Cochineal- 
Vanilla— Cotton and Sugar-Potatoes— Chili— Timber— Water— Tobacco 
—Commerce — Conquest — Revolution — Independence — Influence and 
Wealth of the Priesthood— Santa Anna— Gen. Almonte— Gomez Farias- 
Gen. Herrera— Senor Aleman— Education— The War- Manner of Con- 
ducting it — Destiny. — page 100. 



ADVENTUEES 



IN MEXICO. 



CHAPTER I. 

DEPARTURE FOR MEXICO-ARRIVAL AT BRAZOS-DESCRIPTION OF COUV- 
TRY-NAVIGATION OF THE RIO GRANDE-TRIP UP THE RIVER-REYNOSA 
— CAMARGO-MIER AND ITS NATURAL A.DVANTAGES— STOCK— DESCRIP- 
TION OF COUNTRY, TIMBER, AND PRODUCTIONS— GUERRERO-SCENERY 
—CURIOSITY OF THE NATIVES-HOSPITALITY OF THE AUTHORITIES— 
SPRINGS— DWELLING HOUSES-COAL MINES-SILVER ORE, &C.— A CROOK- 
ED RIVER-GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS-DEPARTURE FOR MATAMORAS. 

The excited state of feeling which followed the first authentic in- 
telligence announcing the existence of actual hostilities on the Rio 
Grande, was only equaled by the promptitude and alacrity which 
characterized the conduct of our people, in offering to the country 
their services, and hastening to the scene of action. At the period 
when the first requisition for troops was made (in the spring of 
1846), I was engaged as clerk on the steamboat Ontario — then in 
the Nashville trade. The immediate demand for vessels of the 
smaller craft, by the government, to transport troops and munitions 
of war, from the Brazos to Matamoras, induced the proprietors to 
transfer her to the seat of war ; and more as an indispensable ap- 
pendage to the crew, than from any inherent billegerent disposition, 
I consented to continue the supervision of her finances, and accom- 
pany her to the enemy's dominions. Leaving New Orleans on the 
21st of May, 1846, the Ontario, with a portion of the Louisiana 
volunteers, was towed across the Gulf by the brig Everett, and land- 
ed among the first boats at the Brazos, on the 28th of the same 
month. 

Succeeding our arrival, numerous incidents continued to occur, 
almost daily, many of which possessing some degree of interest and 
coming under my observation, have already appeared in the public 
prints, in the form of " Letters from an Occasional Correspondent." 

A recapitulation of so much of those letters as relates to the Rio 
Grande and its resources, will hardly be deemed out of place here, 
inasmuch as it will impart to the reader a more definite idea of that 



14 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

country than he has been able to attain, unless having visited it in 
person. 

Although the reading public has been recently overtaxed w^ith al- 
most every variety of statements, purporting to be authentic descrip- 
tions of that interesting region, and accurate accounts of its re- 
sources — yet few, if any, of the many adventurers, have succeeded 
in arriving at conclusions at all satisfactory to those who are famil- 
iar with the country, as it exists under ordinary circumstances. The 
great variety of opinions entertained of the country, is mainly 
the result of the variety of circumstances under which it is visited. 
The tyranny of first impressions is difficult to eradicate, and is ever 
liable to exert its influence over our better judgments. It is, there- 
fore, matter of little surprise, that a large number of our volunteers, 
who, on their first arrival at Point Isabel and Matamoras, under the 
mcst untoward circumstances, and encountering trials at which 
their ideas of domestic comfort revolted, should arrive at original and 
diversified conclusions. Nor is it at all strange, that much of the 
dark and gloomy should be mingled in the creations of those whose 
bright hopes of speedy conquest have been supplanted by the more 
melancholy feeling incident to disappointment and disease. 

The principal objection to the country of the Rio Grande, and, 
indeed, the larger portion of the Mexican provinces arises from 
the scarcity of timber. The ebony, musquite, rosewood, and a vari- 
ety of other short, stunted, and thorny growths, almost insulated with 
vines of different species, and some of whose flowers bloom pereni- 
ally, constitute the only woodlands — if they deserve that dignified 
appellation — in the vicinity of that river. Occasionally the willow 
and white cypress are to be found approaching the banks, but not in 
sufficient abundance to afford fuel, at a fair compensation. The 
ebony and rosewood are the " tallest timber," but it is seldom that 
either reach an altitude of over forty feet. Both are well adapted to 
the manufacture of light cabinet ware, and would doubtless be ap- 
propriated by the Yankees to that purpose. 

The rumor that extensive beds of coal abounded in the vicinity of 
Guerrero, a town on the Rio Grande, three hundred and forty -five 
miles from Matamoras, was sufficient inducement to visit that place, 
on a kind of exploring expedition. Although the practicability of 
navigating the river, above the mouth of the San Juan, had been 
doubted, yet it was easily accomplished ; indeed, it has since been 
ascended to Laredo, a distance of some seven hundred and thirty 
miles from the Brazos. The chief obstructions to navigation con- 
sist in the rapidity of the current and the narrow passages between 
the reefs — the latter of which might be easily removed, at a trifling 
expense. The most remarkable of these are said to occur above the 
mouth of the Rio Salado — oiif of which is represented to be more 
than a mile in length. They consist of a spongy composition of 
coral rock, and bear a close i csi mblance to some of the specimens 
found in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. 



IN MEXICO. 15 

After having made three trips from the Brazos to Matamoras, the 
Ontario left the latter place on the 14th of June (1846) and ascend- 
ed to Guerrero, touching at the principal points between the two ci- 
ties, all of which are on the Mexican side. 

Reynosa, some forty miles below Camargo, is an inconsiderable 
place, but eligibly situated. It contains some fine brick buildings, 
and a population of perhaps one thousand. 

Camargo, on the bank of the river San Juan, a short distance above 
its confluence with the Rio Grande, has, since the existence of the 
war, become a place of some note, though previously it was rather ob- 
scure and unimportant, save as the commercial depot for Monterey, 
the capital of the province of New Leon, and one of the principal 
scenes of the triumph of our arms. 

The town of Mier, known as the place where Col. Fisher and his 
men were captured during the Texan war, contains over five thou- 
sand inhabitants. It is located on the Rio Alcantro, three miles above 
its confluence with the Rio Grande, and forty-five miles above Camar- 
go. Under a different form of government, and with an industrious 
and enterprising population, such as is generally found in the towns 
in the United States, Mier would soon command extensive manu- 
factures, and a flourishing trade. Its water power, which is now unem- 
ployed and unnoticed, would afford superior facilities for the manufac- 
ture of woollen and cotton fabrics, the raw material for either of which, 
may be produced in the immediate vicinity with little labor. Indeed, its 
natural resources are almost unsurpassed, but are destined to remain 
undeveloped, until American genius shall have been directed to that 
. quarter. So soon as the navigation of the Rio Grande shall be open- 
ed to the commercial world, if that period find its manufacturing fa- 
cilities in their present state of nature, the great A^ariety of domestic 
manufactures of the United States will find a ready and profitable 
market along the whole line of that great thoroughfare. The inhab- 
itants, at present, produce little else than stock, which requires no 
food but musquite grass and fodder ; with Indian corn sutficient to 
supply themselves with tortillas. Single herds of cattle, numbering 
from five to ten thousand, and double that number of sheep and goats, 
are not unfrequently to be seen. 

Ascending the river from Mier, a very material change for the bet- 
ter is observable in the character of the country. On either side, 
rich and extensive valleys stretch out to what is called the " table 
lands," presenting a strong and deep soil, in many places judiciously 
cultivated. In some of the prairies, extensive cotton farms, contain- 
ing from ten to fifteen thousand acres, are to be seen. Beans, pota- 
toes, wheat, and corn are here grown in greater abundance than in 
any other part of Mexico, a fact which taken in consideration with 
its commercial and manufacturing advantages, must ultimately ren- 
der the valley of the Rio Grande, one of the most important regions 
of the South. 

Ninety-six miles above Mier, on the Rio Salado, is located the flour- 



16 



DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 



ishing city of Guerrero. This place is approached by ascending the 
Salado to its rapids, one mile and a half below the town, and ten 
miles from its confluence with the Rio Grande. The rapids and ad- 
jacent scenery present a peculiarly picturesque and romantic view. 
The river here is small and the current exceedingly swift ; and as its 
dark turbid waters leap and tumble over the black, dingy rocks, they 
seem endeavoring to imitate Niagara itself Perhaps the effect pro- 
duced is equal, but the grandeur is incomparably insignificant, when 
viewed in connection with that great and wonderful water-fall of the 
world ! The scenery about Guerrero, however, is neither insipid or 
monotonous. Gigantic hills rise abruptly from the banks, which are 
covered with pine, magnolia, and various growths of evergreen, yet 
there seems to be a contention between the rocks and shrubs for the 
supremacy of the soil. Some leagues from the town, and as the 
sources of the Salado are approached, forest timber of large dimen- 
sions is said to abound. 

The Ontario being the second boat to approach Guerrero, and the 
largest ever seen by the natives, great curiosity was manifested, and 
she was thronged by visiters. Their astonishment and interrogato- 
ries relative to the boat and its machinery, afforded a fund of amuse- 
ment to the officers. The Alcalde remarked in Spanish, which 
when translated gave us to understand that, like " Capt. Scott's coon, 
he was in favor of giving in." He said he had been told that the 
Americans could send their letters by thunder and lightning, but 
never believed it — yet since he had seen, with his own eyes, that 
they could twist iron into so many fantastic shapes, and make it 
float against the current, he began to think they could accomplish 
any thing they chose to undertake, and it was of no use to fight 
ao-ainst them. The Alcalde came on board soon after the boat land- 
ed statins' that one of his rancheros had informed him that the 
Americans were coming in a "sea-wagon" that split the waves and 
rocks in two, forcing its own passage. It seemed as if about half 
the inhabitants expected to be annihilated at once, so alarming was 
the commotion, until they were assured by the Alcalde that the 
boat, although breathing and snorting, did not possess animal life, 
and was perfectly docile. Whether through fear or affection, great 
friendship was manifested by the authorities, and the priests were 
hio-hly delighted to find that the American Bible so closely resembled 
their own. Fandangoes were gotten up in the city, and invitations 
extended to many of our company. Those who attended seemed 
highly pleased with the beauty and enthusiasm of the women, but 
disgusted at the ignorance and incivilities of the men, 

Guerrero contains a population of near 10,000, and is a popular 
place of resort among the better classes, on account of its sulphur 
springs. These springs are located above the city some twelve 
miles, and are said to possess the same medicinal virtues as the cele- 
brated Blue Lick springs, of Kentucky. The first settlement was 
made at Guerrero, in the form of a missionary station, more than 



IN MEXICO. 



17 



one hundred years ago. It is the largest and decidedly the mos< 
pleasant place on the Rio Grande. Owing, perhaps, to the materials 
used for construction, together with the rude notions of architecture 
entertained by the natives, most of the towns in Mexico present an 
appearance of antiquity which does not in justice belong to many 
of them. The style of building is rather tasteful in effect, but mea- 
ger and insignificant in detail. Most of the dwellings in Guerrero 
have their gardens and yards ; and the entire place, in the absence 
of every thing like gaudy display, presents an appearance of ease 
and comfort, if not of wealth. 

It was soon found that bituminous coal of excellent quality, could 
be obtained here in abundance. There exists several varieties, 
among which is one containing little or no sulphur, and which burns 
readily as it falls into water. This is a superior article for the use 
of blacksmiths, as was . ascertained by actual experiment. Active 
preparations Avere making by a company of Americans to work 
these mines, which when opened, must become invaluable in a 
country where timber is so scarce and expensive. 

Silver ore is found in the vicinity, and gold dust is said to exist in 
the alluvial depots above the mouth of the San Juan river. Red 
chalk, red and yellow ochre, brimstone and nitre, likewise abound 
\vithin a circumference of ten miles of the town. 

The Mississippi, Avhich has long enjoyed the undisputed reputa- 
tion of being the crookedest river on our continent, is hardly an in- 
dex to the Rio Grande. It must have required an accomplished sur- 
veyor to ascertain the general course of the latter stream, flowing as 
it does to every point of the compass, and torturing itself to find 
some new direction. Boats frequeutly get fast in turning the bends, 
and were it not for .the velocity of the current, pilots would surely 
get lost in its mazy labyrinths. The " oldest inhabitants " contend 
that birds seldom succeed in flying across — but almost invariably 
light on the same side from whence they take their flight. In width 
it varies from 100 to 300 yards. The complexion of its waters re- 
sembles those of the Missouri, while the rapidity of its current is 
even greater. In extent of volume it will hardly compare with the 
Ohio, at Cincinnati. It is navigable for steamboats of light draught, 
at nearly all seasons, to Laredo, seven hundred miles above the 
mouth. 

To the scientific geologist, the upper Rio Grande could not fail 
to present a field of peculiar interest. There exist many novel spe- 
cimens, and the earth is rich in mineral treasures. A large portion 
of the rock formation is of sand stone, which is constantly increas- 
ing. The intense heat of the sun, succeeding the heavy rains, soon 
converts the alluvial deposits into rock. Islands frequently rise from 
twenty to fifty feet above the surface of the water, composed of what 
might be termed calcareous conglomerates. They appear to be col- 
lections of large sea shells, with a great many fibrous petrifactions 
of roots, bark, and grasses, and in some are found considerable quan- 



ig DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

titles of carbonate of iron. Many of the blufls exhibit, near their 
bases, strata of the finest quality of clay, adapted to the manufacture 
of a superior article of delf In short, this region affords every 
natural resource to attract the attention of capitalists and speculators, 
while there is little to allure the hardy pioneer of the West, who 
paves the path of civilization by hewing out his own home and for- 
tune in the forest. 

After lying at Guerrero three days, and taking on board over fifty 
tons of coal, the Ontario left, on her return to Matamoras, on the 
morning of June 22d, amid the acclamations of a large number of 
the inhabitants, of all ages, sexes, colors, and conditions, who had 
assembled to witness her departure, and who continued to wave their 
scarfs, handkerchiefs, blankets, and rebosos, till the boat had receded 
beyond their sight. 



CHAPTER II. 

RETURN TO MATAMORAS-CREOLE FEVER-TREATMENT-RECOVERY-EAR- 
RV AND CUNNINGIIAM-VIPIT TO PALO ALTO-BURIAL OF A SOLDIER- 
IMPRESSIONS-ARRIVAL OF VOLUNTEERS-SPECULATORS-GAMBLING- 
GEN. TAYLOR'S ORDERS-tllS PERSONAL APPEARANCE-ANECDOTE OF A 
DUTCHMAN-GREAT THIRST FOR GLORY-TRAVELING ON THE RIO GRANDE 
-MEXICAN WOMEN-ANECDOTE OF LIEUTENANT DEANS-COSTUME OF 
THE WOMEN-RANCHEROS-THEIR APPEARANCE AND DRESS. 

Suffering from a severe and violent attack of " creole fever," 
which confined me to my room for four consecutive weeks, I arrived 
at Matamoras on the '25th of June (1846). Leaving the boat, I took 
lodgings at the United States Hotel, of which Mr. Howard, a warm- 
hearted and gentlemanly Kentuckian, was proprietor. Those who 
were so unfortunate as to be in Matamoras at this period, knew well 
how to appreciate a kind or generous action, for it was with some 
difficulty, among the vast crowd which then thronged the city, that 
those in perfect health could procure the ordinary necessaries of life, 
much less could an invalid, prostrated by disease, look for those at- 
tentions called for in his suffering condition. 

It was during this illness that I became acquainted with the two 
gentlemen who were afterwards my unfortunate associates in captiv- 
ity — Dr. Barry, of Mississippi, and Mr. Cunningham, of Louisville, 
Kentucky. The assiduity which characterized their disinterested at- 
tentions, can never be forgotten, nor can I ever hope to extinguish the 
obligations under which their repeated acts of kindness placed me. 
Ceasing to cherish the memory of those who could turn aside from 
their occupations of dealing death and destruction, to alleviate, with 
a gentler hand, the afflictions of an invalid stranger, I should, indeed 



IN MEXICO. 



19 



be ungrateful. To their unremitting attention and kind ministrations, 
f perhaps owe my recovery from a disease which is there seldom 
eluded, during the process of acclimation ; and in four weeks from 
the period of my attack, was sufficiently restored to health and 
strength, as to be able to accompany them, on a visit to the battle fields 
of Palo Alto and Reseca de la Palma. The excursion was one of 
deep and mournful interest. It was on the occasion of the funeral of 
young Danford, a regular in the American Army, who had received 
his death wound at Palo Alto, and who, after lingering two months, 
died in the same hotel and in the same room I occupied. He had 
been taken to the hospital, but could not endure the idea of dying 
there, and was brought to the hotel on his own earnest and repeated 
solicitations. His last wish was to be buried on the battle field. He 
had been but a private soldier — yet, in the absence of the "pomp 
and circumstance," which usually attends the last rites of those supe- 
rior to him in station, the scene was a melancholy and impressive one. 
Pecuniary reverses and domestic misfortune had driven him to join 
the regular service, about a year before the present war. He was a 
native of Tennessee, and had been quite a favorite with his regiment, 
as well as in the social circle that he had once adorned. His com- 
rades were all ready to sound his praises — and although his private 
history was comparatively unknown, his intelligence and unassum- 
ing manners, Vi^ith his brave and manly bearing, had particularly at- 
tracted the notice and warm regard of his officers. His last day upon 
the earth was peculiarly appropriate to the closing scene, even of a 
warrior's career. It was calm and clear, as the soul is, after the storm 
and struggle of ambition have past away. It was one of those mel- 
low, golden days, experienced alone under a tropical sun, and the 
stars and stripes hung in motionless solemnity over the subdued city 
of Matamoras. Soldiers were collected together in small group.?, 
whispering among themselves — and even the sergeant, when uttering 
his orders, seemed to dispense with half his authority. Soon the muf- 
fled roll of the drum was heard, and silent and dejected, with their 
eyes fixed upon the ground, and their arms reversed, the soldiers form- 
ed in procession. With measured pace they approached the battle- 
field. Arriving at the grave, the black pall, which covered a plain 
coffin, was removed, and the remains of the deceased were silently 
lowered into the earth, by his former mess-mates. The troops encir- 
cling the grave, the word of command was given, and the simultane- 
ous discharge of musketry announced that a soldier had been depos- 
ited in his last, quiet resting place, beyond the din of battle and the 
strife for glory. But the roaring requiems from the arms of tho.se 
who had survived him were proof that he had died as a soldier ought 
to die — full of honor — though not upon the field. 

His old comrades retired, and as they walked mournfally away, 
casting back a lingering look upon the newly heaped up mound, I 
asked myself if these were the heroes who were carrying the fame 
of the American arms to the remotest regions of the earth, and un- 



20 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

furling the flag of the free over half a continent — if men who could 
not witness, without the deepest emotion, the burial of a comrade, 
could ever have rushed so impetuously to the charge ! Yet I knew 
that they had, and rejoiced to see that those who could fight valiant- 
ly, could also feel sensitively, and weep bitterly. But such have al- 
ways been the character and sentiments of the American soldier — 
such must ever remain distinguishing features in the conduct of a 
people nurtured in the school of social refinement and constitutional 
liberty. 

Resuming my situation of clerk on the Ontario, in July, I had the 
pleasure of meeting a number of old friends among the volunteers 
from the States of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, who were 
then arriving at Brazos Island. An almost innumerable swarm of 
speculators ibllowed in their train, across the Gulf, anticipating a rich 
harvest, and a realization of speedy fortunes. The vulture-like avid- 
ity with which this class of people flocked around our army, was 
alike discreditable to themselves and to the character of our govern- 
ment. Disappointed in attaining their object, they were often found ■ 
to be the perpetrators of outrages upon the persons and property of 
the enemy in cold blood ; and for which acts of violence the volun- 
teers were not unfrequently held responsible. Men were to be seen 
here from every known quarter of the globe, without visible means 
of support, and no resource but that of peculation and open robbery; 
in fact, the variety of "gentlemen of leisure" was complete, from 
the well-clad gambler to the common vagabond, with his dilapidated 
habiliments, descanting upon his "unfortunate" condition, and omit- 
ting no opportunity to impress the belief that he "had been better 
raised." Games of monte, "white or red," faro, and even "old 
sledge," were extensively indulged in, while every other stratagem 
was put in requisition to relieve the unsuspecting of their extra change. 
It was not long, however, before Gen. Taylor issued peremptory orders 
of ejectment to this class of adventurers. And old "Rough and 
Ready" is the man to be obeyed. Plain and simple in his manners, 
he possesses the firmness and decision of Gen. Jackson, with much 
of the iron nature of that old patriot-hero. In his person Gen. Tay- 
lor is rather above the middle stature, and somewhat deficient in ele- 
gance of figure, yet in his regimentals he possesses a striking and 
manly appearance. In his tent, where he often appears in his citi- 
zen's dress, a superficial observer might regard him as no more than 
a common individual, but upon close examination his head will be 
found large, and formed on the finest model. His forehead is spacious 
and elevated — his nose a most prominent feature, and decidedly aquil 
ine. His eyes grey, keen, and piercing — his mouth large, and chin 
well proportioned. He is remarkable for a deep depression between 
his nose and forehead, and a contraction of his brow, which gives to 
the upper part of his countenance an air of sternness, while the lower 
part is an emblem of mildness and benevolence. 

Among other ludicrous incidents which occurred on the day of 



IN MEXICO. 



21 



general dispersion, was one serving forcibly to illustrate the shrewd- 
ness of Yankee character. A certain "Mynheer," of New Orleans 
rather fresh from the other side of the water, had been retailino- 
small-beer quite extensively among the soldier.*?, at one dime a glass. 
The dimensions of his temporary domicil being rather prescribed, 
he had arranged the barrel from which he drew the refreshing bev- 
erage, so that one end extended beyond the constitutional limits of 
his territory. On the last day of grace, notwithstanding his anxiety 
to sell out and close business, he found his patronage alarmingly di- 
minished. His old customers came up to the bar as usual, to en- 
quire the price of beer; but when he responded '• ten cents a glass," 
they gravely informed him that his next nei^bor was sellincr' " the 
same article " at half a dime ! Finally, the Dutchman, on walking 
round to the rear of his tent, found that a Yankee soldier had tapped 
the other end of the barrel, and actually sold out, at half price ! 

About this period the army was concentrating at Camargo, pre- 
paratory to a descent on Monterey, and the boat, on her upward 
trips, was crowded with volunteers. Officers and privates who had 
escaped the epidemic consequent upon acclimation, all eager to 
" meet the enemy." Many of the young Captains, who had per- 
haps never before unsheathed a sword, seemed particularly anxious 
to distinguish themselves. Distinction was the all-engrossinc- sub- 
ject of conversation, and with their backs against a chair, their feet 
planted, in true American style, against the railing, they would sit 
smoking their sigaretto, or masticating James River, with no care 
to perplex them but the hope of glory. 

Traveling on the Rio Crrande is unlike traveling on the Ohio. 
Here, if a man's genius have a philosophical bend, he can give him- 
self up to consolitary contemplations. He can look out upon the 
proud hills and the well cultivated vallies, as he passes swiftly over 
the glittering waters, and enjoy the homes of his thriving country- 
men. He can read some favorite author, or chat with some old 
gentleman on the follies and vanities of the world in general — or 
he may while away the hours with an innocent flirtation with some 
witch of a girl, to whom he has been introduced, and wreathe the 
fairy footsteps of old time with the flowers of poesy and passion. It 
is not so easy to find amusement on the dark and restless waters of 
the Rio Grande. There you must talk of battles, of surprises, he- 
roes, and forced marches ; and there is little to relieve this bellige- 
rent monotony except the occasional appearance of the laundresses 
of some neighboring rancho or hacienda, rolling up their gowns and 
wading into the water with a bundle of " duds," on washing day. 
Tubs seldom stand on their own bottoms in this part of Mexico, for 
such articles of domestic convenience have scarcely penetrated that 
half civilized region. As a consequence, their women perform this 
very necessary part of household labor, in the river, and from which 
novel custom they seem to have imbibed a sort of amphibious na- 
ture. It is by no means an uncommon occurrence, especially on 



22 



DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 



the San Juan and Salado rivers, to see droves of joyous young girls 
disporting like mermaids among the waves, with their long, black, 
disheveled locks, playing confusedly on the surface. Bathing seems 
to be a passion among Mexican females, and it is one mark of their 
superior knowledge in the science of promoting the health and vig- 
or of the body. 

Much has been recently said and written of the Mexican women, 
of whose personal appearance and peculiarities of character, we 
have been comparatively ignorant. The writer may, therefore, be 
permitted to hazard his own opinion among others, so far as the ex- 
tent of his observation will warrant him in forming one. Those 
about the Rio Grande can scarcely be regarded as a fair specimen 
of the sex in the interior ; yet even they, many of them in a half- 
barbarous state, with all their faults, possess many redeeming quali- 
ties. They are remarkable for their cleanliness, good behavior, and 
hospitality ; and they look upon drunkenness and like vices with no 
degree of toleration. In the north-eastern provinces, particularly, 
they are a mixed and mongrel race, generally the illicit descendants 
of Mexican, Indian, and Spaniard, penciled occasionally with a faint 
outline of Anglo-Saxon ancestry. Their almost universally small 
feet and ankles, is just cause for regarding the linderstandings of our 
people with a degree of astonishment, and I have often seen them 
in ecstacies of laughter, while ridiculing the extensive feet of some 
of our volunteers. As a general thing they possess great symmetry 
of form, and their black, silken hair, pearly teeth, and full, dark 
eyes, modestly beaming with the most intense, and expressive emo- 
tion, is well calculated to bring vividly to mind Byron's picture of 
the "Dark-eyed Girl of Cadiz" — 

"The Spanish girl is no coquette, 

Nor joys to see her lover tremble; 
And if she love, or if she hate. 

Alike she knows not to dissemble." 

It was a bewitching beauty, of this description, that so suddenly 
besieged the heart of Lieutenant Deans, and led him into double 
captivity. Before the army had crossed to Matamoras, and while 
occupying Fort Brown, it was customary for the American band to 
perform some national air, evening and morning. On such an oc- 
casion the " concert of sweet sounds," in the music of the " Star 
Spangled Banner," attracted the attention of crowds of Mexicans on 
the opposite side, among whom appeared a number of ladies. Lieut. 
Deans became suddenly enamored with one of them, and after mu- 
tual signs and tokens, were passed, he plunged into the Mexican 
Hellespont, and landed on the other shore — but in endeavoring to 
capture his heroine, he was made a prisoner by the enemy. It is 
creditable, however, to the Lieutenant's constancy, that after the 
bombardment of Matamoras, and his trial for desertion, he married 
the object of his violent passion. 

The style of dress adopted by the ladies is by no means prepossess- 



IN MEXICO. 



23 



ing. Among the more common classes, it usually consists of light 
slippers without stockings, a flannel petticoat, and a chemise that 
leaves a much larger share of the neck, shoulders, and that entire 
neighborhood, bare, than our sense of modesty would dictate. The 
reboso, or bonnet, when worn, not only covers this nakedness, but 
leaves one in doubt whether the head is a part of the body, or the body 
a part of the head. 

The females are transcendantly superior to the males, not only in 
personal appearance, but in every essential requisite that contri- 
butes to moral refinement. The great mass of the men are ignorant, 
indolent, inefficient creatures, distinguished by but one leading trait 
of character — that trait is treachery. The rancheros^ who compose 
the great body of the Mexican cavalry, constitute about the best por- 
tion of their native population, so for as energy of character and in- 
telligence are concerned. They are half Spanish and half Indian in 
their extraction; gaunt, shriveled, though muscular in their frames; 
dark, swarthy visaged, and below the ordinary stature. They live 
more than half their time in the saddle, and are unrivaled horsemen. 
They are ever on the alert, and seldom surprised. When not in pur- 
suit of plunder, they roam over the vast plains, and employ their time 
in lassoing buiialo and wild horses, which are to be found there in 
countless numbers. Killing these animals and preparing their hides 
for the market, is their means of livelihood. Their costume gene- 
rally consists of a pair of tough raw-hide leggings, with sandals of 
the same material, bound together with leathern thongs, over which 
is a blanket, with a hole in the center, large enough to allow the head 
to be thrust out, and which falls rather gracefully over their should- 
ers, leaving ample room for the play of their arms — the head cover- 
ed with a broad straw sombrero, and a lasso in his girdle, ready for 
use. Such is the appearance of the ranchero, in time of peace, or 
when engaged in his ordinary occupations. Add to this a long lance 
with a sharp spear head, ornamented with a strip of red bunting, on 
a horse as savage and unmanageable as himself, his belt amply sup- 
plied with pistols and knives, and you see him as a member of a 
troop of banditti, or as a soldier in the body of cavalry. Cowardly 
as they universally are in the open field, yet in a conflict among the 
chaparel of their own country, or in an ambuscade, they are indeed 
a formidable foe. Their power of enduring fatigue is almost incre- 
dible, and a scanty meal per diem, of jerked beef and plantain, will 
suflice them for months, under ordinary circumstances. Such was 
the personal appearance and character of the men composing the 
Sfuerrilla band, into whose hands we had the misfortune to fall. 



24 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 



CHAPTER III. 

A HUNTING EXCURSrON-CAFTURE-JOURNEY TO MIER-PICKING POCKETS- 
APPEARANCE AND CHARACTER OF CANALES-TilE FIRST NIGHT OF 
CAPTIVITV— NOVEL INTERVIEW WITH ONE (JF THE RANCHEROrJ-fcEN- 
TENCE OF DEATH-MEXICAN CHARACTER-INTERFERENCE IN OUR BE- 
HALF—SENTENCE REVERSED-OUR FATE REVEALED. 

On the thirteenth of October (that most unUicky day of all months), 
preparatory to departing' on her downward trip, the Ontario ran up 
the San Juan river some half a league to wood. A number of pas- 
sengers destined for Matamoras and the Brazos, were already on 
board, among- whom were Dr. Barry and Mr. Cunningham, alluded 
to in the preceding chapter. While the boat was lying to, those gen- 
tlemen and myself, desiring a little recreation and amusement, went 
ashore for the purpose of shooting deer, armadilloes, or anv other 
game w'hich so abounds in the chaparel about Camargo. We had 
advanced perhaps a hundred yards in the thickets, when we saw o 
large herd of deer, slowly and lazily receding from us, as if con- 
scious they were alluring us into difficulty. Forgetting, for the mo- 
ment, that straggling parties of armed Mexicans were frequently seen 
prowling about in that vicinity, robbing and murdering indiscrimi- 
nately, w'e continued the chase and ventured above half a mile from 
the boat, when a simultaneous discharge of our pieces brought down 
two fine stags. With that degree of enthusiasm which seldom fails 
to attend the first conquest in the career of amateur sportsmen, we 
eagerly rushed upon our fallen victims to apply the knife. Exulting 
in our success, and engrossed in contemplaiing the rich and sumptu- 
ous feast we should enjoy, and having settled the preliminaries, as to 
how the "saddles" should be served, the reader may imagine our 
surprise at finding ourselves surrounded by over thirty armed and 
savage looking Mexicans! Our carniverous contemplations were 
quickly succeeded by a very dillerent sensation about the stomach. 
Prom.pted by the same feeling, our first impulse was to offer a des- 
perate resistance, and sell our lives as dearlj'- as possible ; but on at- 
tempting to re-load our guns, the banditti, with their glittering 
spears, rushed in upon us, and we were immediately captured and 
disarmed. 

In such a crisis it is difficult either to describe or imagine one's 
feelings. From the notorious character of those into whose hands 
we had fallen, nothing better than an unceremonious and cruel butch- 
ery could be reasonably anticipated. The situation of Herr Dries- 
bach, in his cage of lions and tigers, would have been an enviable 
one, compared to ours. But they gave us no time for reflection or 
condolence, even had the lime or occasion provoked such a train of 
thought. Tying our hands behind us, they lashed us upon the backs 



IN MEXICO. 25 

«f their own mustang's, and thus conveyed us some thirty miles, be- 
fore the sun set. The entire party halted for the night in the woods, 
within a few miles of the town of Mier, whither a deputation was 
immediately despatched to purchase a supply of muscal. Adhering 
strictly to the motto, that "to the victor's belong- the spoils," they 
now proceeded to search our pockets, when to their evident mortifi- 
■cation, they found only about $7(3 about our persons. Of this amount, 
together with our pen-knives, pencils, &c., we were relieved, with 
that peculiar nonchalance, so characteristic of the Spanish brigand. 
Our fate was yet a mystery, and after binding us securely, hand and 
foot, and separating us at a distance of about fifty feet from each 
other, they commenced drinking muscal and playing at monte. The 
night was made hideous by the howling of half starved wolves, and 
the unceasing altercations and jangling of those who were unlucky 
at cards. Sleep, under such circumstances, was an "obsolete idea," 
and the morning, instead of bringing repose to our sore and jellied 
flesh, found us involved in dire regrets, and cogitating on the certain 
uncertainty of human events. Those few of our captor-s who had 
been permitt-ed to fall into a broken and troubled slumber, were 
aroused with the sun, and the crowd gathered menacingly around us. 
From their gestures, it was obvious- they had been disappointed in 
«ot finding more booty, and were grumbling over their ill luck. 
A thought hf re struck me, which I doubt not was the means of 
•rescuing us all from the jaws of death. With a very indefinite idea 
of the Spanish language, I endeavored to make them understand 
that two of us were practical printers — an announcement which I 
well knew woukl shield a man from robbery in the United States — 
and supposed it might be a satisfactory apology, even there, for the 
e.xhaustcd condition of our finances. Thej'' failed to interpret my 
Spanish, when a young man, rejoicing in the sobriquet of Poco Lla- 
n)a {little flame}, accosted me in broken English, and demanded an 
«.xpianation. To him I made an appeal, in all the eloquence such 
an occasion tends to inspire, and soon succeeded in eliciting his in- 
terest in our behalf. But he possessed no authority, save that. which 
sprang from the respect and influence he had gained as an interpre- 
ter. The most prominent figure — the moving spirit and leader of 
the band, was Canale.s — brotlier of the celebrated Mexican General 
of that name — and tiie same who was recently shot at Ceralvo. He 
was an old man, and sat on a log, at some distance, leaning lazily 
forward, ^yith his elbows on his knees, while he extracted with his 
jack-knife, the rich marrow from the thigh bone of one of the stags 
we had killed on the previous day — they having taken peaceable 
possession of the two dead carcasses, and brought with them the 
veritable " saddles" of venison which had excited such a yearning 
■sympathy in our own bosoms. This old reprobate was eager for 
gain ; he po.?ssessed a keen and insatiable desire for plunder. Os- 
tentatious of display, he seemed desirous to impress us with some 
•evidence of his superiority over his comrades in crime. With an 



26 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

antique and dilapidated sombrero stuck jauntingly on one side of his 
grey, bristly head — his leathery countenance expressing a kind of 
reckless good humor, shadowed out from his austerity^ and which 
his present discontent could not wholly banish — he sat venting his 
wrath and disappointment through his old, toothless jaws^ and sinful 
lips, in a succession of oaths and imprecations, and in a reckless and 
disdainful manner, that had long survived his youth. Assuming an 
air of anger and ferocity, he drew around him the entire party, 
whose exact number we had now ascertained to be thirty -three, 
and announcing that we should all be despatched at once, he or- 
dered his men to perform the work of death ! Although this in- 
telligence was not unexpected, we could not suppress the deep drawn 
sigh which ever accompanies that stern and solemn verdict. How 
rapidly one will gknce over the reminiscences of past life, ta 
dwell upon the bright spots in his pilgrimage, when conscious 
that his career is about to close forever ! Saints, in perfect health 
and security, may chant their choruses religiously asservating 
that '-they would not live always,"' yet when they come to give 
up the ghost, and find their kst tracks on time's territory sudden- 
ly sliding into the dark and unexplored regions of eternity, they are 
apt to manifest a desire to renew their lease upon life — and to hope, 
even in the darkest hour of despair. Such at least has been our ex- 
perience. Entertaining, as we all did, the most supreme contempt 
for our " chivalrous captors" — knowing that they, as well as the 
whole Mexican army, were a people, who in point of treachery, deg- 
radation, and cruelty, stood pre-eminen3 among all nations under the 
canopy of heaven — yet we continued, even under their sentence,, ta 
hope that through some unrevealed interventioni, our lives might be 
spared. The fact need not be concealed, that from their meanest 
soldier to their best general, they are a nation of liars and plunderers. 
There are a few honorable exceptions, it is true, but more modest ep- 
ithets will not serve truly to portray their general character. — The 
gratification of their sensual de.s.ires seems to be the sole object of life,, 
and money is their God. The eternal chink of change is their na- 
tional music. It seems to burn in their pockets, and they shake it ta 
keep it cool. Boasting of their freedom, they buy and sell their own 
free citizens ! There is scarcely an officer in their army, from Santa 
Anna down to Gen. Requina, who has not been publicly bought 
and sold. Every man has his price, and such are their mercenary 
natures, that many of them consent to sell their souls, and stalk 
about in the miserable shell of mortality, moving libels on the hu- 
man race, plundering and murdering those whose more virtuous 
deeds they have not the moral courage to imitate. 

Our knowledge of this '-ruling passion," considered in connectior. 
with the fact that our pockets had signally failed to meet their anti- 
cipations of gain, gave us little to hope for, till Poco Llama conveyed 
to us the welcome intelligence, that through his "special pleading," 
Canales had reversed his former sentence. We at once felt a 



IN MEXICO. 27 

weighty debt of gratitude to the interpreter, and began to regard 
him as our deliverer ; when we found that his seeming disinterest- 
ed interference had been prompted by the same love of gain which 
is the propelling lever to every Mexican heart. Qe had prevailed 
on Canales to spare our lives, on condition that he himself would sell 
us and divide the proceeds. We could enter no protest against this 
novel proceeding, although in our former capacity of political editor, 
we had been in the habit of preaching ''give me liberty or give me 
death," and submitted to our fate with apparent good grace. Un- 
armed, and out-numbered as we were, ten to one, sophistry was our 
only available resource — so, feigning the highest regard for the peo- 
ple and institutions, which at heart we abhorred, we submitted to the 
humiliating spectacle of being placed "under the hammer," and 
marched off to be employed in some unknown Mexican printing of- 
fice, upon a comparatively unknown language. 



CHAPTER ly. 

MARCH FOR CERALVO-DIET-PINTO INDIANS-INSULTB-NEVl^ JEWELRY- 
SYMPATHY AMONG THE DUTCH-ROAD TO CARMILLO-SCENERY— HA- 
CIENDA OF SAN MATERO-ANCIENT RUINS— SLAVERY IN MEXICO-ARRJ. 
VAL AT CARMILLO-BEAUTY AND AMUSEMENTS-A ROBBER PURSUING 
AN INDIAN-A MOUNTAIN PASS-DEATH AMONG THE MUSTANGS-DESO- 
LATION OF A RANCHO-ARRIVAL AT MONCLOVA-FAILURE TO SELL 
PRISONERS-CONFINEiNIENT IN PRISON-APPEARANCE OF THE PRISON AND 
LNMATES-A MIER PRISONER-REFLECTIONS, &c. 

After an hours' consultation, in which each seemed entitled to a 
hearing, twelve of the party, with Poco Llama at their head, were de- 
puted to guard us for the future. To convey us as speedily as pos- 
sible beyond the reach of the American forces, each was again lash- 
ed upon a mustang, and we took up the line of march for Ceralvo, a 
distance of thirty-six miles. Inured to a degree of abstemiousness 
themselves, that would do credit to our "Grabamites, " they had not 
furnished us with a particle of food during the twenty-four hours of 
our captivity, and with a promise of providing breakfast for us at the 
first rancho, some three leagues distant, we were galloped off at a 
rate which exercised our physical functions in a manner eminently 
calculated to sharpen the appetite. But sadly had we realized the 
melancholy fact that both rancho and repast existed only in the imag- 
ination of our inhuman masters, long before we obtained a mouthful 
of refreshment. Over hill and ravine — through plain and chaparel, 
the thorns of which had completely riddled our clothes, and even in- 
troduced themselves, in the most abrupt manner, to the " inner man," 
we were dragged and driven, till the night brought us up to a miser- 



28 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

able meson (tavern) in the outskirts of Ceralvo. There we were 
feasted on tough beef, boiled in pepper sauce, seasoned with garlic, 
tortillas highly spiced, and milk which tasted like water thickened 
with chalk. Uninviting as would have been a collation, consisting 
of such arcotics, at any other time, the aristocracy of our epicurian- 
ism had now so resolved itself into democratic voracity, as to com- 
pletely dispel all thoughts of luxury ; and we continued to gorman- 
dize till a number of Pintos gathered around us, who, as if apprehen- 
sive that we were about to make a " clean sweep, " sat down on the 
floor beside us, to help themselves. The tragic manner in which 
they went to Avork, justified the conclusion that they had starved as 
long as ourselves — so we quietly resigned the premises to our new 
adversaries. We afterwards asc(;rtained that these fellows had com- 
posed a part of the Mexican army, and were engaged in the defense 
of Monterey on the 2 1st of the preceding month. For the period of the 
armistice they had been discharged, to shift for themselves, and were 
wandering through the towns sjmnging a miserable sustenance. They 
belonged to one of the numerous Indian tribes, and are called Pintos 
from the fact that, after arriving at manhood, their faces, from some 
cause or other, which I did not hear explained, become spotted — yel- 
iovv and red. I presumed these veriegated colors to be the result of 
some mode of tattooing, though at the time felt quite indifferent as to 
their cause. They are utterly worthless as soldiers, for if fired upon 
once, they never stop to receive the second round. For some time 
we were permitted to sit and endure the taunts and insults of these 
barbarous bravadoes, who were soon johied by a new recruit of 
swarthy, ill-visaged citizens, to rejoice at our condition. In this pre- 
dicament our ignorance of their language was rather blissful, as we 
failed to translate their personal insinuations. It was not until after 
we had made an earnest appeal to Poco Llama that we were conduct- 
ed to our lodgings for the night, where we were locked up in a damp, 
<lismal room, without a window, and left to select the softest place on 
a brick floor, upon which to recline our agitated frames — while the 
guard slept before the door, stretched out upon filthy mats. At sun- 
rise, ne.xt morning, we were aroused to a breakfast of boiled rice and 
chili : or that which might be more appropriately termed pepper 
soup, to be swallowed hasty enough for any one. 

Breakfast despatched, we were introduced to iron hand cuffs, pro- 
cured for us in Ceralvo. These were an article of jewelry Dr. Barry 
peremptorily refused to wear, and it was not until they were forced 
upon Hi's wrists that he consented they should ornament his person. 
The company being ready to start, a dispute arose between the land- 
lord and our leader about the bill, when Poco L.lama, giving us to 
understand we were destined to Monclova, told the landlord he had 
an unprofitable set of customers, and pushed on through town, leav- 
ing the bill to "settle itse'f " The next town of any importance on 
our route to Monclova, wns Mn'ino : hut esteeming an approach to 
that place not entirci\' ■ ^I'lrnt. iu cnnspquence of its proximity to the 



■«r 



IN MEXICO. 



29 



American army then at Monterey — twenty-six miles distant — we pur- 
sued a mountain pass 136 miles, across to Carmillo. Meandering 
along this narrow path over thirty miles, we halted on the third night 
at a Small Dutch settlement, where the vroivs gave us some excellent 
buttermilk — the first article of the kind we had drank in the coun- 
try, that was not liberally christened with water. The " grub " at 
this place was also quite palatable, and served by the women, whose 
gestures seemed to express a lively interest in rendering us comfort- 
nble, and sad regrets for our misfortunes. They could '' nix-for-stay " 
the cause of our confinement in chains, until they extorted a lie from 
Poco Llama, who told them we had been detected and captured as 
spies. The doors had neither locks, bolts, or bars ; so that seeing the 
s'igns of sympathy manifested for us among the Dutch, a guard was 
placed over us for the night. 

Our route to Carmillo continued through a country sparse!}^ popu- 
lated, yet rich in rugged and romantic scenery. Alternately descend- 
ing abruptly into, and rising from deep ravines, then passing over 
immense plains, containing little vegetation, except prickley pear, 
among a thin and dwarfish musquite chaparel, we traveled some thir- 
ty miles per day. Reaching the hacienda of San Matero on the ISth, 
we stopped for the night. This place presented one of the most in- 
teresting and novel pictures we had yet encountered. The hacienda 
is situated twenty six miles from Monclova, on the bank of a small, 
clear mountain stream, called Agua Pensativo (pure water), and near 
the center of a lovely basin some thirty miles in circumferance. The 
spot bears every appearance of having once been a populous city. 
Stone foundations are to be seen, covering many acres. Innumerable 
columns and walls rise up in every direction, composed of both lime- 
stone and sandstone. The columns are built in a variety of shapes, 
some round, others square, and bear every imprint of the Avork of 
human hands. In many of them, the particles are so closely ce- 
mented as to leave scarcely a trace of their connection, while others 
are crumbling and disjointed at their base, as if once inundated in 
some mighty current that had swept all else away, leaving bare and 
bleached these isolated monuments of its power. For miles in the 
vicinity, the basin is covered with broken pottery of burnt clay, fan- 
tastically painted and ornamented with a variety of inexplicable 
designs, which, to some extent, serves to reveal the advancement of 
a fallen race in the mechanic arts. Whether these ruins have any 
connection with those of South America, is not known. But be this 
as it may, at some future daj;-, when a civilized and enlightened peo- 
ple shall succeed the present population, some geologist or anticjua- 
rian may reveal the secret of their existence. The Indians pretend 
to preserve an imperfect tradition of these remains, while the Mexi- 
cans believe them to be the ruins of some ancient city of the Aztecs. 

The hacienda of San Matero is a most magnificent and extensive 
seat, enclosing about ten miles square. The principal edifice is a 
large, two story, stone building, built in the usual style of that coun- 



30 DONNAVAN'S ABVENTURES 

try. In the cultivation and supervision of his grounds, he employs 
over three thousand men, many of whom have wives and children 
so that the population must amount to at least six thousand, who 
reside in rude huts, scattered over the premises. Here, as on the 
haciendas of Mexico generally, the laborers are slaves — inconceiva- 
bly more abject and servile in their condition than those of the 
United States. By a law of that boasted republic {?) the poorer 
classes are allowed the privilege of borrowing small amounts of 
money from the wealthy, who, to secure the payment of the incon- 
siderable sums, take a mortgage on their persons. The consumma- 
tion of the marriage contract, in many of the provinces, is also a 
prolific source of servitude. The fee of the priest on such occasions 
amounts to from twenty to thirty dollars ; a sum quite beyond the 
command of the great mass, unless they meet with the good fortune 
to steal it. The priest will seldom refuse to " tie the knot," howev- 
er ; and in either of these cases a mortgage is executed upon the 
persons of those who vohmtarily become indebted, and they are 
slaves, to all intents and purposes — liable to be transferred, indefi- 
nitely. It is true, the law does not openly recognize unconditional 
slavery, yet it justifies the mortgagee, in such cases, in charging 
those who are thus placed subject to his control, more for their 
boarding and clothing than their wages amount to ; so that each 
succeeding year, instead of discharging any part of the original ob- 
ligation, the laborer but increases his indebtedness, and is thus held 
in perpetual bondage. Their release depends upon one single con- 
dition : if from disease, or accident, or through any misfortune, they 
are rendered unable to perform labor, and thus become unprofitable 
subjects, they are at once set at liberty, and generally denied even a 
shelter, where tbey have perhaps toiled for years in servitude. To 
fathers is also delegated the privilege of subjecting their daughters to 
the provisions of this law, and for a trifling ofience, handsome, young 
women are often placed in abject slavery for the period of their 
natural lives, by their unnatural fathers. 

The evening of the following day brought us to Carmillo, a fairy- 
like village, whose beauties can scarcely be surpassed in all the ex- 
pansiveness of the wide world. It is such an Eden as our young 
romantic dreams is apt to picture ; where Flora is forever building 
up her bovvers — where willow groves and fruit trees ornament the 
green fields — where the orange blooms while the golden fruit yet 
hangs upon its boughs. This village reposes at the foot of a majes- 
tic hill, whose one brow frowns upon the silvery currents of the 
Agua Pensativo, as they toss their white and foamy waves against 
the rocks, and whose other casts a delightful shade over the valley 
at noontide, as if to shield the pure and innocent flowers from the 
envious sunbeams that would rob them of their rainbow hues. We 
entered it through a beautiful grove of palmetto trees, nearly a mile 
in length, stretched along the narrow valley of the Agua Pensativo, 
where the Mexicans were actively engaged in horse-racing, as a kind 



IN MEXICO. 31 

of farce, after the more tragic spectacle of their favorite amusement — 
a bull-fight, had just been concluded. A more delightful spot could 
not have been selected, and it w^as literally thronged with people of 
all ages, classes, and sexes — Mexican women selling pulque, beer, 
milk, fruit, cakes, candies, and other nicknacks — and every thing 
conspiring to remind one of a grand gala-day in the United States. 
With the exception of several groups of ferocious looking men, en- 
veloped in thick, heavy blankets, and who were the living pictures 
of Mexican bravos, every body seemed just as happy, gay, and con- 
tented as if their unfortunate country was not overrun by the "hairy 
barbarians of the North — the degenerate sons of Washington," as 
they politely term us. These men could not restrain their feelings 
of exultation, and as we passed on through Carmillo, they followed 
us, uttering their hideous yells of triumph over our helpless situa- 
tion. 

Stopping at a miserable rancho near Carmillo over night, in the 
fore part of the next day we approached a narrow mountain pass, 
when suddenly the deep solitude was broken by an Indian, who 
made the woods resound with the echo of shrieks from his stento- 
rian lungs. He was pursued by a Mexican robber, who held his 
musket poised for a shot. Hurriedly, and unexpectedly, they dashed 
past us, from the woods upon a broad surface of rocks and sand in- 
terspersed with stunted bushes, at a pace which that starved and tan- 
gled chaparal will hardly ever live to witness again. The robber 
sometimes tripped and fell. The thorns and branches had torn 
away fragments of his clothing, and bared his grey head, but intent 
upon his victim, he cared for none of these things. All around tow- 
ered high hills, half clothed with shaggy forests, while their precipi- 
tous crags and scars of avalanches give them an appearance of sav- 
age desolation. These hills, in the province of Coahuila, are the 
terminating ridge of that chain of the great Cordillera, called Sierra 
Madre, and are channeled with ravines, often extending from top to 
bottom, presenting the appearance of deep gashes cut in their sides. 
Many of them expand and grow shallow as they approach the base, 
where the torrent of earth and stone spreads itself over the valley. 
Up such an ascent, the unarmed Indian made his way, pursued by 
his furious antagonist. Our party all paused to witness the struggle. 
A little stream, whose waters at this season, trickled down the nar- 
row chasm, spreading over the rocks, afforded a precarious foothold, 
but the frightened savage groped his way, the sides of the ravine 
towering above his head, and leaving only a strip of the blue sky 
visible between their verging edges. A " fire in his rear" was sud- 
denly heard, and the mountains bellowed back the report ; but the 
Indian climbed unhurt, gaining rapidly on his pursuer. At length 
a smooth rock, nearly perpendicular, arrested for the moment, the 
progress of the robber. He looked, and saw nothing of his prey. 
At the renewed activity of the savage, his anger and disappointment 
seemed to generate new fury, and he pressed on. His sole desire 



32 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

seemed to be that of overtaking and slaying the Indian. With eve- 
ry physical faculty strained to its utmost tension, he worked his way 
up the precipice, over the steep, wet face of the rock ; but here he 
was compelled to pause, and while his blood cooled, he became con- 
scious of his danger. Above him he could find no crevices large 
enough in which to thrust his finger, nor a projection that his foot 
could rest against — beneath he saw the sharp angles of the rocks 
protruding from the sides of the ravine, and below which all lay in 
deep blackness, like a bottomless gulf He tried to descend, but his 
feet found nothing to support them, and while dangling thus, over the 
awful chasm, his gun fell from his grasp, dashing from side to side, 
and splintered into a thousand pieces. The thought that he must 
perhaps soon follow, appeared to urge him almost to desperation. 
The grey bristles upon his old head began to take a perpendicular 
position, and perilous as was the task, he ascended to the top. His 
success was almost miraculous ; and his limbs, aching from the 
long continued strain of every muscle — the ends of his fingers worn 
to the bone — the flesh rubbed from his bare knees — and his heart 
throbbing with a violence unfelt while he was climbing, his en- 
ergies relaxed, and he sank down under the effort. In the heat 
of the excitement, our party had witnessed the scene, unobserved ; 
and when we came up to the exhausted and prostrate robber, in an 
instant he bounded upon his feet, and assumed a belligerant atti- 
titude, as if expecting to meet the object of his pursuit. The stern 
rigor of his features soon changed to suppliancy, and he immediate- 
ly began to warn our "brave captors" of the imminent danger of 
the pass, upon whose very threshhold we then stood. We had ap- 
proached the edge of the pass, and dismounted, preparatory to cross- 
ing, when a fierce shriek called one of our party back to the robber. 
But he had disappeared, and near the spot where we had left him, 
stood the Indian peering down upon his adversary from behind a 
stunted pine that projected over the gulf. He had turned upon his 
pursuer, and hurled him headlong into eternity, over the frightful 
cliff! 

This pass is within seventeen miles of Monclova, and is regarded 
as the most perilous in the hills of Coahuila. Droves of mules or 
mustangs are seldom taken over it without serious loss. So narrow 
is the passage, that if an animal make a single misstep, he is pre- 
cipitated down a precipice some six hundred feet, and if not dashed 
to pieces, is drowned in the water, unless rescued with the lasso. 
Two of the rancheros were accordingly stationed below, on the bank 
of the small, deep stream, with lassos, while two remained behind 
to drive the mustangs. Amid their shouts and a shower of stones, 
the animals commenced their perilous journey, with their noses 
down to the ground, literally smelling their way. They walked 
carefully along, till the leader had nearly crossed the most hazardous 
place, when he stumbled, and his hind legs were precipitated over 
the precipice. With his fore feet and nose, he continued to hold on 



IN MEXICO. 



33 



to the narrow path. His successor came up and, "following' in his 
footsteps," was soon placed in the same perilous situation. The 
third mustang knocked the noses of those two off the path, and 
losing his own gravity by the act, heels over head, they all rolled 
down the steep slope together, and bounding in the air from a per- 
pendicular offset, they were plunged into the torrent below. We 
thought, of course, they were all killed, but they presently rose up 
from the surface, looking astonished at so unceremonious an immer- 
sion, and commenced stemming the current. During this time, all 
eyes were turned to the scene below, and the other mustangs had 
stopped, evidently unwilling to proceed after witnessing the fate of 
their " illustrious predecessors." They were again started, howev- 
er, and all accomplished the pass with no apparent difficulty. Only 
one of the number that had taken a telegraphic jaunt down the 
precipice, was rescued from the stream alive, and he was left on 
the ground in a dying condition. 

This was a sad misfortune to us, as the loss of three mustangs 
left us without a conveyance. A ranchero is constitutionally opposed 
to predestrianism, and our ponies were at once taken to supply the 
places of those that had been lost. The prospect of being near the 
end of our journey was some consolation ; so we set off, descending 
the mountain on foot, among the sharp stones, thorny shrubs, and 
wild maguey, which pierced us at almost every step. We soon 
arrived at a small, dingy looking rancho, where ws expected to pro- 
cure refreshments, but were sadly disappointed. The place was in 
a worse state of confusion than the people about Babylon ever 
dreamed of; and we learned that a party of Camancha Indians, 
twenty or thirty in number, had pounced down upon the unsuspect- 
ing denizens on the previous day, killing several of the men — plun- 
dered the houses — and carried off, in triumph, the women and chil- 
dren — leaving the survivors in a state of sorrow bordering on phren- 
zy. We could afford to feel but little -sympathy for them, as that ar- 
ticle was nearly exhausted from home consumption, and we knew 
that they only wanted the opportunity to be guilty of a similar out- 
ragfe themselves. 

Observing several mules about the premises, we proposed to Poco 
Llama, that he furnish us with the luxury of such a conveyance, 
but he disdainfully refused to do so, stating that we were now quite 
beyond the reach of the "Americanos," and that a little exercise 
might serve to remind us of our obligations to him for having per- 
mitted us to ride as far as we had, in the interior of their republic. 

Just as the last glimpses of departing sunlight were fading in the 
far-off west, we entered the city of Monclova, the capital of the 
province of Coahuila. We found our quarters here quite comforta- 
ble, and our fore consisted of delicacies to which we had long been 
unused. We had been now over a week without a change of 
clothes, and the consequence was, we were more ragged, dirty, and 
lousy, than the rancheros themselves. Worn down by the fatigues 



34 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

we had encountered, we were ready for almost any change which 
would place us beyond the control of our present masters. Monclo- 
va was the first place where we were permitted to enjoy the luxury 
of a decent bed, since our departure from Camargo, and after a night 
of uninterrupted repose, we were aroused by our "magnanimous 
leader," who had brought a purchaser to examine us. Slave deal- 
ers in our own country, like merchants, generally bestow some pains 
in showing off to the best advantage their articles of trafic, prepara- 
tory to a sale ; but we experienced no such evidences of refinement, 
and presented, by no means, an imposing appearance. The pur- 
chaser was the printer of a small eight by ten sheet, called the " £5- 
panoV He surveyed us in a good humored manner, and confessed 
that he should be really pleased to have a mortgage on us, but 
doubted his ability to raise the amount demanded. We did not 
learn what that amount was; and with the understanding that he 
would use his exertions in obtaining the funds, he departed, promis- 
ing that in the event of his success he would return in the course of 
a i&w days, to renew the negotiation. After breakfast, we were 
somevvhat surprised upon learning that we were to be conveyed to 
the common prison, to take up our abode in the interim. Without 
the least ceremony, however, we were marched ofT and confined in 
this com.mon receptacle for all sorts of criminals. This edifice 
stands in the immediate vicinity of the city, within a large court 
yard, the entrance to which is secured by several iron gates, which 
it had not seemed necessary to close. The approach to the prison 
forms a succession of horrors, the gradual increase of which prepare 
the mind for those which are to ensue, and are a fit prologue to the 
imrevealed miseries yet behind. The massive doors, with their huge 
fastenings — the chains, of forms and sizes as various as the crimes 
which fill the heart of man, and hanging upon the walls, as if in 
mockery of the ornaments which usually adorn ordinary dwellings ; 
the thick stone walls, through which the passages seem rather to be 
cut than built, cast a chill upon the blood when entering — and the 
heavy weight which falls upon one's animal spirits, serves more to 
check respiration than the damp, cold floor of the prison itself This 
oppression is heightened, too, by the scarcely human appearance of 
the keepers, who swarm about the threshhold ; and who, if their 
features ever expressed the feelings of other men. a continued com- 
merce with the most abandoned, and their familiarity with crime, 
have changed them to stoicism, and blighted every purer impulse. 
But painful as is the approach to this scene of horror, each succeed- 
ing step becomes infinitely more so. We were ushered into a long, 
whitewashed chamber, lighted by small windows, secured by iron 
bars. At one end lay the mattrasses and bedding of the inmates, 
rolled up in as small a compass as possible, and at the other a leaden 
sink, furnished with water for the use of the prisoners, but to which, 
from every appearance, the premises had not recently been intro- 
duced, for the place was filthy, almost to suffocation. At the same 



IN MEXICO. 35 

time so bare and desolate aa appearance prevailed throughout the 
room, that if all other circumstances of horror bad been absent, there 
was enouffh in the mere look of the place to make one shudder. But 
the people — the human beings who were to be our companions — 
formed a spectacle the most revolting. 

During the day, alter failins in repeated attempts to engage in con- 
versation vrixh. those whom we found could speak only the French 
and Spamsh lansaiages, we at length came up to a pale, emaciated 
young man, who seemed to be in tlie last sta^e of consumption, and 
who. to our utter astonishment, we soon found to be one o( the Mier 
prisoners I He had been kept in confinement since 1S42. His 
name was Preston Oakley, and he was among those who were su'>- 
posed to have perished in the hiils of Coahuila. after the escape of 
himself and party from Salado. He had been picked up by a ran- 
chero, in an unconscious state, produced from thirst and hunger, and 
after recovering, was placed in the mines at Lake Cayman, where he 
had remained in the bowels of the earth until last February, at which 
time, suffering the almost dying agonies incident to a broken constitu- 
tion, he was brought to this den of vice and misert-, for the pur- 
pose of recovering health and strength, to enable him to resume his 
labors. His sight, which he had entirely lost in the deep, dark cav- 
erns, had not yet been wholly restored, and his pale features looked 
as if they had robbed the spirit-land of hah its ghastliness. Five 
years without a syllable of intelligence in regard to the fate of his 
comrades, or from his home, iiis jov at meeting us mav be appreciat- 
ed only by those who have passed through the darkest labyrinths of 
affliction. The circumstances by which we ourselves were sur- 
rounded, and the unknown future that had yet to reveal our destinr, 
awoke at once our sympathy, and inspired us with a deep interest in 
the history of his sufferings, which, as he recounted, his lean, skinnv 
hand would wipe an occasional tear from his cadaverous cheek. It 
was long before he had concluded his succession of enquiries. Sunk 
in the deep depression of despondencv. he had no hope of ever return- 
ing to his native land : and he earnestly implored us. in the event of 
our release, to inform his friends where, and in what condition we 
had met him, and that he should soon be beyond the reach of op- 
pression. 

On the succeeding day. after breakfast, which was served on a lor.^ 
deal table, stretched across the room, with rude benches on either 
side, we began to tax our philosophy to invent some means of occu- 
pying the time. We endeavored to bury the reahiies of t;:e present, 
by imagining ourselves in die -halls of the Montazumas : "" but the 
groups of the haggard shadows of humanity, which gathered around 
us, forbid such a conclusion, and we finally sat down in our tanered 
and unfashionable garbs, whde young Oakley pointed ovii some of the 
prominent c:i:=.racters, and gave us such inibrmation relative to them 
as had come to his own knowledge. 

Near the chiranev was a miserable, dwarfish looking old man 



35 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

wrapped in a blanket as venerable as liimself, reading, or rather spel- 
ling, a hymn book, which had been given him by one of the priests, 
who are always about the prisons of Mexico. He had been arrest- 
ed for stealing goats from a neighbor, and was awaiting his trial. On 
the opposite side, three men, each of whom were heavily ironed, 
were walking to and fro. At every step their fetters rung on each 
other, and the regularity of their paces, produced a dull, monotonous 
sound, as sad as the groans which may be imagined to proceed from 
the prison caverns of the damned. They had been condemned for 
burglary, a crime, although entirely lashionable, punishable with 
death, when committed on the property of the rich and influential. 
Tiiey seemed wholly unconscious of the presence of any other per- 
f^ons in the room. In their actions might be traced a bitter feeling of 
remorse — not repentence of their crimes — but regret that they had 
been reduced to this helpless and hopeless condition. A rather supe- 
rior character to these criminals was a Frenchman, who sat near us. 
His mind had, to a certain degree, been refined by education and tra- 
vel, and he conversed fluently in the English and Spanish, as well as 
French. His crime consisted in a refusal or neglect to observe a due 
degree of defference to the requisitions of the church ordinances. 
In a state of feverish anxiety, he was expostulating with himself, 
upon the injustice of his detention, and the impossibility of further 
punishment. 

While engaged in curious speculations, and thinking what strange 
lessons of the human heart were to be learned in a school like this, 
we saw a woman enter the prison, dressed in a splendid, but some- 
what awkward, manner. She was approaching a handsome featured 
young man, who was engaged in writing a letter at the farther end 
o^ the table. She hung over him, as if whispering words of conso- 
lation and deliverance, and when she looked up, I recognized that 
" dangerous gift of beauty " which had lured so many of her sex to 
the most fatal destruction. The appearance of these two persons, 
in this place of unmixed wretchedness, and among people on whom 
privations and confinement had fixed their hard and degrading stamp, 
formed a distressing contrast. The young man was of pure Span- 
ish blood, and had been an artist — respectable in his profession. He 
had long been pursuing a dishonest course, and being detected in 
counterfeiting, was condemned to death. The female had shared 
his short-lived prosperity, and now with a rare fidelity, clave to him 
in his l^ist and fallen fortunes, when all the world beside had abandon- 
ed him. This instance of the power of that passion which rules 
the world, struck me as being infinitely more remarkable than many 
of those proofs of female affection which are cited as heroic. 

Here were two persons whose lives had been base and profligate 
to the last degree — that of the woman too vile to think upon — and 
yet that holy and purifying passion, which neither vice, nor crime, 
nor misery could extinguish, now seemed, as it were to triumph over 
all. And in the very hour, when it was the turn of the most hateful 



IN MEXICO. 27 

qualities to have uncontroled sway — when every inducement, even 
the opinion of the worhl — of that world by which both had been 
abandoned — was in favor of her deserting the man, she was impelled, 
by the unaided, irresistible power of her aflections, to comfort his 
hapless wretchedness ; to strip herself of all she possessed to liahten 
the burdens of a wicked soul that was about to be denied a frail hab- 
itation upon the earth — and this, too, for a man whose claims upon 
her affection, if they could have been estimated, were probably as 
such men's claims mostly are, less than that which he would have 
had upon a brute, destitute of reason ! That intelligent and virtuous 
females know no limits in their exertions for men whom they love, 
excites no wonder, for it is the result of sincere, ardent, and pure at- 
tachment; but that a woman, divested of the most estimable attributes 
of her sex, degraded in mind and in person, regarded by the better 
part of society as an anomoly — a monster, belonging to neither sex, 
but the reproach of both — that she should, in the depth of her hu- 
miliation, practice, and in one instance, at least, feel the same devoted 
virtue which would have added dignity to the most exalted of wo- 
men — that she should do this, with a disinterestedness which admits 
of no doubt; for the object of her love was a wretched criminal, 
whose days were numbered, and whose name was wedded to dis- 
grace and contempt — this it is that excited my astonishment, and the 
highest veneration for the passion which can work such wonders. 

" The treasures of the deep are not so precious 
As are the concealed comforts of a man 
Locked up in woman's love 1 " 



CHAPTER Y. 

RELEASE FROM PRISON AT MONCLOVA-PUNISHMENT OF CRIMINALS-AD 
VANCE OF GEN. WOOL'S ARMY-OUR DEPARTURE FOR ZACHATECAS-MEX 
ICAN EXPRESSES-PARRAS-NOVEL FUNERAL PROCESSION-BURIAL OF A 
MUCHACHA— LAKE OF PARRAS-RIO GRANDE DE PARRAS-DIET-MO«aUI 
TOS-DEGRADATION OF FEMALES-IMPLEMENTS OF HUSBANDRY-AN IN 
DIAN CITY-INDIAN FORTIFICATIONS-INDIAN WOMEN-CAPTURED BY 
THE INDIANS-CROSSING A RIVER-ATTE:UPT TO ESCAPE-DROWNING OF 
A RANCHERO-TOWNS AND CITIES-FRESNILLO-CATHOLIC PROCESSIOM 
—ARRIVAL AT ZACHATECAS. 

There are tragedies in real life, which, but for their every-day oc- 
currence, would penetrate men's souls deeper than all the fabled 
woes that poets ever yet imagined. They consist of that war whiqh 
crime is ever waging upon the dark soul of its victim ; and it is re- 
volting to be compelled to gaze upon sorrows one has not the means 
to aJJeviate — still more humiliating to endure privations he has no 



38 



DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 



power to avenge. During the brief term of five days' confinement 
within the gloomy walls of the prison at Monclova, among crimi- 
nals condemned to die, I received impressions which years will not 
suffice to obliterate. It is impossible to contemplate, without the 
deepest pain, spectacles of degradation, which there became " famil- 
iar as household words." Laying aside the enormity of their crimes 
and the justice of their punishment, the discipline of a Mexican pris- 
on, and the tortured agony of its inmates are enough to paralyze the 
cold and rigid sensibilities of a Siberian serf. As 1 would sit and 
contemplate this mass of conscious helplessness and misery, my 
mind would naturally translate itself to my own country, and indulge 
in comparisons. I thought what a glorious field here presented it- 
self for the benevolent purposes of Miss Dix, whose disinterested ef- 
forts to restrain the rigorous discipline of the prisons of the United 
States, have made many a penitent heart glad. But the melancholy 
history of unfortunate Mexico, records rare examples of pure and 
elevated virtue, combined with accomplishments like hers. Indeed, 
had " Solomon, in all his glory," lived out his days there, his re- 
mark—" who can find a virtuous woman ? — her price is far above 
rubies! "—would doubtless have been esteemed as profound as in 
his own Oriental land. 

The establishment of no penitentiary system is authorized by the 
penal code of Mexico. Capital punishment is frequently inflicted 
" by authority," for the most trivial offenses ; but when the crime of 
the transgressor does not merit such severity, the laws condemn him 
to serve in the army, for a certain period of time, stipulated in ac- 
cordance with the enormity of his offense. Thus, the position of a 
soldier in the defense of his own soil, which is every v/here else an 
honor, is there rendered a disgrace. The law's delay is often more 
annoying to the criminal than satisfying the ends of justice, when 
condemned. In the capital of each province is a prison, after the 
fashion of the one described at Monclova, in all of which men are 
frequently confined twenty years, without trial, conviction, or sen- 
tence. 

No sooner had the rumor of Gen. Wool's approach towards Mon- 
clova reached the ears of our captors, than we were immediately re- 
leased from our inhospitable abode, with a hope that we should not 
only find better quarters, but more agreeable companions. We soon 
learned, however, that owing to the rapid advance of the American 
army, we had the high prerogative of advancing before them, and 
were compelled, at once, to take up the line of march towards Par- 
ras, with a fair prospect of a pedestrian excursion to Zacatecas, four 
hundred and forty-five miles further into the interior. The authori- 
ties at Monclova received intelligence of the advance of Gen. Wool, 
three days before his arrival ; and it is a remarkable fact, that al- 
though their facilities seem to be inferior, they always manage to 
compete with us in despatching an express. This may be attrib- 
uted to the fact that the law authorizes the rider to supply hiipself 



IN MEXICO. 39 

with a fresh mule or mustang, at every rancho if necessary, and to 
always take the fleetest. 

In less than four clays after our departure, we reached Parras, a 
distance of one hundred and forty-three miles from Monclova. This 
was "walking- Spanish," with a degree of expedition which would 
do credit to the efforts of Evans, or any other pedestrian. On the 
night preceding our arrival in town, we remained at the rancho of 
Don Manuel Ibarra. The Don, with his brother, and several other 
citizens of the town, had been educated at Bardstown, Kentuck}^, 
and conversed remarkably well in English. Besides being quite 
civilized himself, he entertained us in a civilized manner; and his 
wine came very near raising our independence so far above zero, as 
to burst our chains, and declare in favor of the " largest liberty." 
He asked many questions about Bardstown, and seemed to revert, 
with peculiar zi^st, to the place of his schoolboy haunts : and while 
he made no effort to restrain his indignation at seeing us hand-cuffed, 
he offered no substantial relief 

Parras is a perfect paradise of a place. It is celebrated for the ex- 
tensive vineyards which spread out in every direction from its vicini- 
ty, and for its manufacture of wines, pulque, muscal, and ardiente. 
The streets were all clean and in good repair, while in every door, 
and at every window, beautiful senoras and senoritas made their ap- 
pearance, and who did not suppress their feelings of deep commisera- 
tion, as we passed. It was some high church day among the natives, 
and observed as n. fete. The streets were thronged with Mexicans — 
men, women, and children, all of whom appeared to have been washed 
and dressed up, for once in their natural lives, at least. In the morn- 
ing, before we arrived, there had been a grand and imposing proces- 
sion, and during the remaining portion of the day there was a general 
cavorting or vamoung through the streets. Those of their soldiers 
who had participated in the battle of Monterey, had returned, under 
the v/eight of the laurels they had won in that bloody conflict, and 
were warmly applauded by the priests and ignorant officials, who 
seem to regard every engagement as a victory, however fatal to them 
the fortunes of the day. 

All nations have their different customs, just as all individuals 
have their distinguishing characteristics : and in a strange country, 
to a stranger, both are often interesting, in the evening we witness- 
ed a most novel ceremony. It was on the occasion of the burial of 
a muckacha, a small female child. The excitement created by the 
fete, had been the means of collecting together a large assemblage ; 
so that the public places were all filled to overffowing, and our cara- 
van. " horse, foot, and dragoons," experienced much difficulty in find- 
ing a place of entertainment. While sauntering through the streets, 
under the vigilanc eyes of our haughty masters, our attenlbn was 
first arrested'by the sight of a priest, clad in a white robe, ornament- 
ed with various emblems pertaining to the Catholic church, coming 
out of one of the cathedrals, preceded by four small boys, in their 



40 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

scarlet under robes and white mantles, each bearing a candk 
branch ; while the dolefully discordant ringing of the bells apprised 
us that something unusual was on the tapis. They had not proceed- 
ed far till the priest entered a small house, around which had as- 
sembled a number of males and females. Our ears were soon sa- 
luted by an unearthly sound, which the natives dignify with the 
name of music, but which if Shakspeare meant should move all who 
were fit for nought but "treasons, stratagems, and spoils," he was 
quite mistaken. The sound was produced by three fiddles, and a 
venerable looking individual with a large violoncello, each playmg a 
distinct and separate tune, if tunes they might be called, and accom- 
panied by several voices, in an unintelligible chant. While this 
novel performance was going on within, three men without were 
engaged in throwing small rockets, which exploded, making a re- 
port as loud as that of a pistol. It was not long till the padre and 
altar boys came out, preceded by the musicians, and followed by the 
corpse, borne on the shoulders of four rnen. The bier vvas composed 
of a short, rough box, having an upright cross at the head, shrouded 
with white muslin, and covered with a profusion of artificial flow- 
ers, and other ornaments, tastefully arranged. At the top of the 
bier was a dingy brown figure, about two feet in length, enveloped 
in a velvet robe decorated with gold and silver tinsel, and upon its 
head a bright brass crown, confining a mass of long, raven hair. 
The hands of the figure were clasped closely over the breast, and 
presented, as did the features, the appearance of wax. From the 
house, the funeral procession, which was small, proceeded to the 
church, where we presume the service was performed by the priest. 
At least the fiddling and chanting soon ceased, and the procession 
came out. The body was then conveyed about half a mile, to a 
consecrated biu-ial ground, unaccompanied by the priest, but still 
preceded by the fiddlers, and men with the rockets. Our captors, 
whether in respect to the deceased, or from a sense oi religious duty, 
all joined in the procession, and we were als^ required to accompa- 
ny them. Before arriving at the grave-yard, it was necessary to as- 
cend a hill, at the base of which all the parapharnalia was left. 
Here, to our surprise, that which we had all considered a wax fig- 
ure, sacred to the memory of the Virgin of Gaudaloupe, and which 
I have described, was the body of the poor little infant itself, v/hose 
soul had been transported to heaven, there to join its purer kindred 
spirits, A strange tradition is connected with the history of the im- 
aginary Virgin of Gaudaloupe, and the annual festivals which are 
held in honor of her first appearance. The natives contend that she 
first introduced herself to an Indian shepherd, in the early conquest 
of JVIexico by the Spaniards, and commanded him, "in the name of 
Mary, tire mother of God," to summon the bishop to her presence. 
The bishop refused to attend until satisfactory evidence was produced 
that the shepherd had not conjured up an imaginary vision to de- 
ceive him — after which he erected a magnificent church on the spot 



IN MEXICO. 



41 



where she had first appeared to the Indian — and the anniversary of 
•the day is yet observed as one of their holiest holidays. A wax fig- 
ure of full size, representing the virgin, is often used on funeral oc- 
casions, which led us to an erroneous conclusion on this. The 
funeral obsequies of the child were brief, and I could not help re- 
marking that there was no apparent expression of sorrow or regret 
among the friends, but it seemed to be more an occasion for rejoicing. 
A number of the Mexicans who mingled in the procession, perhaps 
from motives of curiosity, appeared highly pleased at seeing Ameri- 
can spectators present, and one of them asked me if I did not think 
it mucho bucno^ which I afterwards learned to mean very beautiful ! 

Parras contains about fifteen thousand inhabitants; it is located 
near the line, but within the limits of the province of Ccahuila. In 
its immediate vicinity, on the west, is a beautiful lake bearing the 
same name, and the waters of which serve to irrigate the grounds for 
miles in circuniference. We had remained in the city till the after- 
noon of the day succeeding our arrival, and after our departure, en- 
camped for the night upon the banks of this lake, which is over thirty 
miles in length, and varying in width froin five to twelve miles. It 
was stm set when we sat down at the end of our day's journey, and 
the dark blue hills in the neighborhood looked like chains of am- 
ethysts in a golden setting. The placid waters faithfully mirrored 
back the beautiful vision, only as with a light gauzy veil breathed over 
it. There were orange groves of no ideal kind ; and the perfumes 
of odoriferous gums filled the atmosphere. Acacia shrubs, interwo- 
ven with wild lilac and blue-colored parasite, flourished on the banks, 
whose refreshing fragrance seemed infinitely richer than the breath 
of spring in our own fields and woods, during the fairest season of 
the year. The delusion was enough to make us forget the gloom 
which gathered round our own destiny, till the wild doves upon the 
palm branches in all their native liberty, set up their mournful, mel- 
ancholy notes. Montazuma hens were gathered in clusters upon the 
banks, and a variety of water-fowl, some marble white, others raven 
black, were chirping out their monotonous evening songs. Large 
flocks of pelicans were floating over the lake, and occasionally the 
heron with his heavy-flapping wings, would agitate the bosom of the 
clear blue waters — for the birds in Mexico, like every thing else, an- 
imate or inanimate, are supplied with horns. After che sun had en- 
tirely sunk behind the Pacific, on his road to enlighten the Kono-- 
wongs and the Che-mungs, of the Celestial Empire, the evening glow 
faded away, but a still softer radiance came to clothe the pale moun- 
tains with rosy tints. The shining stars had risen, looking out like 
angel's eyes upon the lake, with none of that glimm.ering, as if they 
trembled with cold, which is seen in our clear winter nights. Their 
bright shadows were mirrored in the lovely lake, across whose sil- 
very flood, pueblas floated in their rude gondolas, as if between two 
heavens. Along the banks life was stirring. Fires were burning 
at the hearths, before the door^s of the huts at the rancherosj flocks 



^2 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

of bleating sheep an(i .goats were moving homeward; and the bark- 
ing of smooth, hairie'Ss dogs, the singing of men, and shouting of 
chikh-en, swelled the concert and served to beguile the hours of a 
sleepless night. 

For several consecutive days our route continued along the bank 
of the Rio Grande de Parras (Grand river of Parras), the waters of 
which liow into this lake ; some nights slopping at rancheros asid 
haciendas, others in the woods, with no shelter but the dark blue 
roof of the world. At the rancheros we found an addition to the 
usual diet in the shape of wild fowls, often well cooked, and whose 
carcasses we demolished with a decided relish. An impro-vement 
was also perceptible in the appearance of many of the women, whose 
pretty faces we could not well avoid looking at, and who, although 
they were rather shy and inclined to shun us at first, v/ould generally 
approach us without much sign of fear before we left. The pictur- 
esque grouping of the mangrove and l>anana, to say nothing of the 
palm so abundant on the banks of this river, could not but excite our 
admiration. But it is seldom we experience a pleasing sensation un- 
alloyed with something of the portentious or opposite ; and while 
enjoying the incomparable beautj^ of this Mexican river, we were 
not only annoyed with an oft returning sense of wrongs inflicted by 
human hands, but by swarms of sand flies, and broods of musquitos^ 
of the largest size, and keenest bills, the loudest singers, and sharp- 
est biters in the universe. Their's is no guerilla warfare, but a bold, 
manly attack in front. The fatigues of a hard day's journey was 
no security against one of their charges, and even the tough skinned 
Mexicans were not impervious to their assaults — notwithstanding Poco 
Llama had proved himself constitutionally opposed to settling bills. 
We may talk as we will about the beautiful skies of Mexico, her 
balmy gales, and the gaiety of landscape, which can hardly be con- 
ceived in less sunny climes — it will fascinate the imagination, but will 
not shield us from the barbarous cruelty of her musquitos — they are 
the reality of the romance, and dispel the brightest illusions, by their 
sanguinary onslaughts. 

Near a village or hacienda, called Punta Velascos, in the province 
of Zacatecas, we witnessed a spectacle which, to the credit of the 
Mexican people, is by no means a common one. Repulsive as some 
of their customs are, we were not prepared for a scene of barbarism 
like this. We actually saw a number of females, harnessed like cat- 
tle, to the plough, dragging it through the soil, while men were 
lounging in the furrows, lazily swinging at the handles. Women 
were here emphatically degraded to the drudge of life, and it was 
enough to make the heart bleed to look upon the burdens they were 
compelled to bear. There is no afTectation or sentimentality in this — 
it is a plain, but lamentable fact, which we were happy to find staring 
us in the face at only the one place during our progress through the 
provinces. 

The ploughs and other instruments of husbandry, used by the na- 



IN MEXICO. 43 

lives, were such as to excite our curiosity. They are all constructed 
of wood, with the bare exceptions of the pick and crowbar, which 
are pointed with iron. A Mexican plough is nothing more nor less 
than the fork of a small tree, the one prong of which, being sharp- 
ened, serves for the share, while the other is extended as a beam — 
with a pole or handle attached to the crotch, and you have com- 
pleted the celebrated implement which furrowed out the fame of Cin- 
cinnatus himself We learned that the " peacock, " and other pat- 
terns of the improved plough, had at different times been introduced 
there, but rejected as " Yankee notions. " 

Between Parras and St. Catharina, we encountered several differ- 
ent Indian tribes, the first of which was the Yaquis, a small tribe, all 
of wbom reside in a city called Yaqui, the population of which 
amounts to perhaps four or five thousand. The features and general 
appearance of these people bear a closer resemblance to the European 
or Anglo-Saxon race, than do those of the Mexicans. Docile and 
timid in their habits, they support themselves by agriculture, and cul- 
tivate extensive fields of Indian corn and potatoes in the neighbor- 
hood of their city. Their buildings are all one story high, construct- 
ed of unburnt brick ; and those of each square consist of one solid 
block, all the rooms being in direct communication with each othf^. 
There are four streets diverging from the center, where stands, u\^n 
a high eminence, a temple dedicated to the sun. These streets divide 
the city into four distinct squares, or districts, each of which has its 
own municipal regulations. The whole presents a rather command- 
ing appearance, and is certainly creditable to the taste and ingenuity 
of its aboriginal projectors. This tribe long since absolved all alle- 
giance to Mexican authority — rejecting not only their government, but 
religion, and will permit neither their priests or civil dignitaries to 
come among them. Their manner of worship consist of the same 
forms and ceremonies as did that of the ancient Aztecs, with the ex- 
ception of the sacrifices. They have ceased to immolate themselves 
upon the altar, probably from the fact that their race is nearly extinct. 
The history of this tribe is marked by repeated acts of the most cruel 
oppression. About thirty years ago they were all driven from their 
homes, and fled to the extreme north of the province of Sinoloa, 
where they founded a more extensive colony, and where a great 
portion of the tribe yet remains. Those who novv compose the pop- 
ulation of Yaqui, are such as were impelled to return, through die 
influence of that yearning, instinctive love for their native land, 
which is, to some extent, inherent in the breast of the whole human 
family; and which so attaches them to their early homes, that neith- 
er outrage nor oppression can drive them hence. Not only have 
they been assailed, plundered, and murdered by the Mexicans, but 
their honest labors are taxed to support another more barbarous and 
savage tribe, called ihe Tarenechas. who annually rob them of a 
great portion of their ^vibstance. 

The Taranechas are a hostile and heathen tribe, a number of 



^^ DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

whom are to be found among the soldiers of the Mexican army, and 
particularly in the guerrillo parties ; which entitles them to some 
favorable consideration from the government. Our route lay direct- 
ly through their town or fort, which is on the bank of the Rio 
Grande de Parras, not far from the source of that river. The fort 
extends from the river bank to the top of a high hill, the country 
behind which is inaccessible, and altogether, commands a grand and 
enchanting prospect. The fortifications encircled the summit of the 
hill, and consisted of an enclosure of high palisadoes, firmly and 
closely secured ; within this there was a thick, broad hedge, render- 
ed impenetrable by the matting of ivy, junipers, briars, and other 
sorts of copse. These circular barriers had but two entrances, and 
within them stood the wigwams, forming another circle, with an in- 
intervening space of a most beautiful, verdant lawn, between them 
and the fortification. They appeared like a circle of arbors, con- 
structed of young trees, twisted together and bent to unite in the 
form of a cone or dome, at the top, and so ingeniously covered with 
bark, and often in more elegant style with mats made of reeds, as to 
be dry and comfortable. An orifice at the top emitted the smoke of 
the fire, in the center of each, presenting a life-like and domes- 
c spectacle. A grand circular area within the whole, was used 
a^\,exigence required, in the evenings the young met in it, and 
joined in the festive dance. During the day it was a gymnasium 
for athletic feats of activity and strength, and exercises in arms and 
combat. On more important occasions, it was the forum of coun- 
sellors, who met to dispense justice, and regulate the affairs of the 
tribe. An elevated mound in the center of all, seemed to be a kind 
of observatory, from which arose a tall, straight pole, surmounted by 
a bull's head. 

But v/o found the prospective far more charming than the place 
itself The nearer we approached, the enchantment of its rural ele- 
gance was dispelled. The filth cast out before the doors of the wig- 
wains, rose up in putrifying heaps. These corrupting offals disgust- 
ed alike the eyes and olfactories of all but the Indians. In the sun- 
ny space, the young Indians, like groups of grumphing quadrupeds, 
had crawled together in a state of primitive nakedness. Not yet 
able to walk, they sprawled and sported together, with that degree 
of careless indolence a voluptuous clime inspires. Their hair, which 
in riper years is jet black, was blanched; and the red color of their 
plump physiognomies was considerably heightened by exposure to 
the influence "of a tropical sun. A rupture finally ensued among 
these little varlots, which soon called the squaws from their wig- 
wams, and who came dashing like furies into the group. Each 
plucked her particular charge from the uproarious heap, and tossing- 
it over her brawny shoulders, screamed in concert with the shriller, 
pipes, raised to the highest key, of the outraged and inquiring ur- 
chin. The squaws, whom we learned were seldom on the mo^ 
amicable footing with each other, kindling with the supposed inju 



IN MEXICO. 45 

ries sustained by their respective pappooses, now turned the strife 
actively toward each other ; and the juveniles clung to their moth- 
er's backs, grinning-, and spitting wrath, as tKeir guardians pulled 
each other's hair, and fought with nails and fists, till a number lay 
routed on the ground. Such clamor in the camp, seemed to be no 
usual thing, and called forth the interference of several warriors, 
who soon calmed the tempest. The shafts of their lances flourished 
about the disheveled heads of the insurgents like forked lightning ; 
and battered and routed, the whole female force fled, growling and 
whining under their wounds, to the interior of their hovels. This 
insurrection brought to the doors of their wigwams, several feeble, 
infirm, and superanuated old fellows, who looked like successful 
candidates for "the hunting grounds above." Their heads Avero 
hoary and bald. Though emaciated and withered, they were not 
bowed and bent like our veteran mechanics and laborers, but straight 
as rushes ; and through their furrowed, wrinkled, smoke-bleared 
features, much of the Indian manly expression might be discerned. 
While all these things were transpiring, a crowd, headed by the 
sachems, had assembled around us, and to our surprise, taken our 
captors captives ; while they stared at us, with as much amazement 
as if we had just dropped from the moon, or Le Verrier's new plan- 
et. After learning the character of our captors, and the nature of 
their mission, a brief deliberation at the council-fires, resulted in 
permitting us all to pass on, unmolested ; not, however, till after we 
had dined with the Indians, who feasted us on bean soup, and the 
meat of a venerable mustang, that, had a coroner's inquest been held 
over his defunct carcass, the verdict would have been, "came to his 
death from abstemious habits." While engaged in discussing the 
soup, for we did not feel inclined to disturb the dry bones of a '"dead 
horse," our attention was drawn to a scene of another description. 
It was the Indian youth of the tribe, just returning from a pillagmg 
excursion, with three other ill-fated prisoners. The conquerors of 
Parthia, on their triumphal entry, could not have felt or expressed 
higher exultation. They had burned and destroyed three families 
of Zamboes, whose scalps they had brought on long poles, to grace 
their pageantry. The prisoners, after promising to become initiated 
into the tribe, had been permitted to survive. This was a youthful 
feat, worthy of the fame of their choicest warriors, and in which 
they exulted with the enthusiastic warmth of youth. Though their 
features were of a heavy symmetry — all of a dark bronze color, 
some shades lighter than their jet, bushy hair, yet the fire of the 
soul animated the dark, round countenance with the highest marks 
of expression. Their large eyes seemed kindled ; and the com- 
pressed lips, distended nostrils, and glistening ray that radiated and 
burst from their visages, exhibited the native energy of Indian char- 
acter, which indolence and want of cultivation had combined to 
suppress. A shout burst from the midst of them. It was respond- 
ed to by the young Indian females hastening to meet them. The 



45 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

warriors joined in the deafening acclamation, and the fort rung with 
praise and triumph. As we retreated from the enclosure, they com- 
menced a kind of fandango, or war dance, and it was long before 
their shouts of revelry died upon our ears. 

Passing on through the old military and missionary station of St. 
Calharina, we crossed the Rio Grande de Parras, near Sombrerete, 
in a novel looking ferry-boat, made something after the fashion of 
an "Ohio broadhorn." Our passage was purposely delayed till the 
ferry-boat made her last trip, while six of the company were left to 
guard us. This was the first stream of any importance we had en- 
countered during our journey, and apprised that we were to cross it, 
we had already concerted an attempt to escape. Being good swim- 
mers, although our arms were confined behind us, we resolved to 
jump overboard, which resolution was carried into effect soon after 
the boat was pushed into the current. Quite unexpectedly, three 
of the Mexicans plunged in after us, one of whom went to the bot- 
tom to rise no more. Through the excitement, and by the unlooked 
for rapidity of the current, I was carried a half mile below, to the 
opposite shore, where those of the party who had previously crossed 
were avA^aiting my arrival. As they threw a lasso over my head, 
they laughed heartily at the futility of any effort we might make to 
escape. My companions, (Mr. Cunningham and Dr. Barry,) swam 
to the other shore, but were pursued by the rancheros on mustangs, 
and soon retaken. They made no effort to rescue the body of the 
drowned Mexican, but passed on to Sombrerete with the utmost in- 
difference in regard to his fate. Considerably refreshed by this im- 
mersion, we set off on the ensuing morning for Fresnillo, over the 
best road and through the best cultivated region we had yet looked 
upon in Mexico. 

A most striking difference exists between the manner of their 
population and that of the United States. From a variety of causes, 
such as scarcity of water and limber — as a means of defense against 
the banditti, and the existence of mineral resources, which constitute 
the chief wealth of the country, Mexico sustains nearly her entire 
population in the towns and cities, all of which will be ibund much 
larger than an American would be apt to anticipate. While m the 
country, instead of encountering farms or villages at almost every 
turn of the road, one will not unfrequently travel three days without 
seeing even a temporary habitation. Few of the towns in the inte- 
rior and mining districts, contain a population of less than ten thou- 
sand, some as high as sixty thousand ; and all having a number of 
churches, which are universally constructed in the Gothic style of 
architecture. 

Fresnillo, within thirty miles of Zacatecas, contains a popula- 
tion of twelve thousand. Its neighboring scenery is rich and diver- 
versified ; and its numerous gardens, luxuriant herbage and fertile 
fields, serve to render it one of those paradises, on a small scale, 
which so abound in Mexico. Our arrival in the place was just in 



IN MEXICO. 47 

time to witness the closing- scene of another grand Catholic proces- 
sion, in honor of some of the saints — we did not inquire who. 
Many of the streets through which the procession had passed, were 
yet green with pine leaves, while across them, overhead, were arches 
of evergreens, variegated with flowers of different hues. As is usual 
on such occasions, all the church ornaments were conspicuously dis- 
played at different parts of the city, and the windows of the wealthi- 
er portion of the inhabitants richly decorated with crimson curtains 
and silk flags of the most costly material. 

On the following day we had a comparatively easy march, over a 
broad, well-constructed road, to Zacetecas. Added to this favorable 
circumstance, the prospect of approaching the end of our long jour- 
ney, a very perceptible change for the better began to manifest itself 
in our feelings. Our condition was melancholj'- enough, and al- 
though we had little reason to hope for improvement, we knew that 
new cruelties could not well be inflicted — for we were almost ready 
to welcome death itself, as a relief from an existence offering so little 
charm for the future. Our clothes were so tattgred and torn into 
shreds and strings, as to expose the bare skin to the burning- sun ; 
while at every ventilation, a blister of the same dimensions obtruded 
itself into the very face of the sun's rays — so the elements them- 
selves appeared to conspire to draio us into fresh afflictions. As for 
boots or shoes, they had long since been dispensed with — their term 
of service having- expired, not by virtue of limitation, but the per- 
formance of extra service. With bare feet and legs, lacerated and 
bleeding, and our physical energies almost exhausted after a jaunt 
of nearly five hundred miles, we entered the gates of Zacatecas 
on the evening of the 7th of November, depressed even more from 
anxiety to learn our final fate, than from what we had already en- 
dured. 



CHAPTER VI. 

ZACATECAS-PEACE PARTY-AMERICAN CITIZENS-THEIR HOSPITALITY— 
OUR RELEASE-CONTEMPLATED RETURN-A MEXICAN EDITOR. 

Aroused from our slumbers early on the morning after our arri- 
val in Zacatecas, we looked out upon its broad streets with new 
impulses. Situated in the beautiful valley of the Santander river, 
the towering peaks of Sierra Madre with their rich and hidden 
treasures seem to look down upon the city with a kind of paternal 
significance. As if limning- on her largest scale, nature has here 



48 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

made all her figures bold and colossal — all her features prominent 
and strongly marked. 

Zacatecas, the capital of the province of the same name, was by 
far the largest place we had yet entered, during our progress through 
the country. It contains thirty-five thousand inhabitants, with well 
paved streets, and tasteful buildings. Its population is composed, not 
alone of the Spanish and Mexican races, but is mixed with a num- 
ber of French. English, and Americans, and whose improvements, 
instead of being confined to chemical developments and the pursuits 
of trade, are convulsing the moral and political state of the country. 
A more enlightened feeling here pervaded, than in any other portion 
we had visited. The inert mass of the province had advanced at 
least one step beyond their neighbors, in feeling and asserting their 
importance. Perhaps it was the influence of example — this school- 
ing of their dormant spirits — yet there seemed really to exist half 
an inclination to enter the palace of the Belshazzars, and write ad- 
monitions on the walls. The still small voice of popular rights 
which found utterance at the commencement of the Texan revolu- 
tion, had not died away, but was yet audible, and almost ready to 
burst in thundering intonations. 

It will be recollected that in the struggle between the Centralists 
and Federalists, when Texas boldly led off", the province of Zaca- 
tecas joined in what was denounced as a rebellion. Her people were 
soon overwhelmed, however, by Santa Anna and his army, and sub- 
dued. Since that period the most inveterate hatred of Santa Anna 
has existed among all the population, except perhaps, the priests and 
officers of the Central government. A peace party, numbering among 
its members many native citizens of influence and wealth, Ameri- 
cans and other foreigners, residing there, existed at the time of our 
arrival. This party was awaiting with much anxiety the appearance 
of Gen. Taylor and his army, whose advance upon the place was 
then daily anticipated. This gave to the Americans a degree of con- 
fidence and assurance, which, under other circumstances, they would 
not have dared to avow. Having heard of our arrival and almost 
perishing condition, a deputation of them, led by Dr. Iletzel, former- 
ly a resident of Missouri, came to our quarters, and demanded an in- 
terview with us in private. This was at first peremptorily refused. 
Confined and guarded, as we were, within a room on the second floor 
of the mcso7i, we looked down upon the mob, which was fast accu- 
mulating, with peculiar sensations — with that mingling of hope and 
fear which so strangely thrills the breast, at the evident approach of 
a crisis in one's destiny. We could not be mistaken in distinguish- 
mg among the crowd the faces of some of our own countrymen — 
for the Yankee never fails to betray his identity — yet we knew noth- 
ing of their strength or spirit, and could not even wish them to make 
a demonstration in our behalf, engaged as the two countries were in 
hostilities. They would thus forfeit their own claims to protection, 
and render their own persons and property liable to seizure. Their 



IN MEXICO. 49 

purpose was soon accomplished, however, without any manifestation 
of violence. The mob growing stronger, momentarily, our captors, 
at first at a loss what course to pursue, settled at once upon the more 
prudent policy of admitting them ; and upon witnessing the feeling 
displayed in our favor, with all the semblance of magnanimity, they 
offered to relinquish their claims upon our persons! 

After briefly relating to our deliverers the manner in which we 
had been captured, and the history of the wrongs to which we had 
been subjected, indisputable evidences of which were deeply engrav- 
ed upon our persons, we were conducted to the private and comfort- 
able apartments of Dr. Hetzel. To the kind hospitality of our coun- 
trymen we were not only indebted for all the means by which to 
re"cruit our physical energies, and revive our jaded spirits, but for a 
complete revolution in our wardrobes. 

All again comfortably clad, and decidedly improved, both in ap- 
pearance and habits, we began to feel a strong inclination to return 
to our homes and country. But our proposition to depart for Saltillo, 
a distance of nearly two hundred miles, and where the American army 
under Gen. Taylor was then stationed, received no countenance 
among those to whom we owed our release and liberty. Indeed, the 
new dangers to which we should have been exposed, in the absence 
of an escort, rendered the contemplated expedition a most perilous 
one, and it required no effort of eloquence on the part of our new, but 
sincere friends, to induce us to remain and partake of their tendered 
hospitalities, until the advance of the American army should open a 
line of safe communication to the Rio Grande. 

But we were far from being troubled with ennui at Zacatecas. 
The severe lessons of adversity we had learned in captivity, taught 
us, more than ever, how to appreciate the blessings of liberty. Be- 
sides this, every attention calculated to make our sojourn agreeable 
was bountifully bestowed. We were introduced to a number of the 
citizens, male and female, many of whom we found both intelligent 
and agreeable. Among them was Leandro Cabos, editor of the 
'• Heraldo," the only newspaper printed in the city, and that a most 
decided advocate for peace. The editor expressed his sentiments in 
a manly and independent manner, and did not hesitate to avow, both 
publicly and privately, his predilection for " Yankee institution.s. "' 
He not only refused to insert in his paper any thing favorable to San- 
ta Anna and his part}-, but would publish conspicuously, all Gen. 
Taylor's orders which appeared in the least favorable to ihe Mexi- 
can people. We visited the mines, gardens, public buildings, besides 
several natural curiosities — observed the peculiar characteristics of 
the people, and, altogether, saw and learned much that was to us 
new and novel. 



DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 



CHAPTER VII. 

MEXICAN OPINION OF YANKEES-BUILDINGS IN ZACATECAS-CUSTOMS- 
MERCHANT'S SHOPS-BUSINESS-AUCTION SALES-PETTY THIEVES AND 
THE[R PUNISHMENT-GAMBLING- LOTTERIES-SUNDAY ENTERTAINMENTS 
-CHURCHES-CATHEDRAL AND ITS ORNAMENTS-PRAYING FOR A HUS- 
BAND-BULL F[GHTS-DEATH OF A PICADORE-COCK FIGHTING— EXTENT 
OF SILVER MINES— GOLD DUST-NATURAL CAVE-GEOLOGICAL SPECI- 
MENS-IRON, COPPER, AND COAL MINES-GARDEN OF DON ALONZO GO- 
MERES-HUACO PLANT, ITS APPEARANCE AND DISCOVERY-MANUFAC- 
TURES IN THE CITY-POLITICS-JOSE MARIA LAFRAGUA-GOVERNMENT- 
CRUELTIES OF SANTA ANNA-BARBAROUS EXECUTION OF A YOUNG FE- 
MALE. 

That mankind generally, and the Mexicans in particular, are 
strange and incomprehensible animals, is among the "fixed facts." 
From the highly cultivated Anglo-Saxon, down through the whole 
grade of animate nature, to the blind and bigoted heathen of Hindos- 
tan, every one appears to be dissatisfied with his lot, and claims a bet- 
ter one ; while, at the same time, every one is apt to consider himself 
better, if not wiser, than any one else — at least, he obstinately prefers 
his own manners, diet, dress, and religion, to all others, and will 
laugh at or pity those who differ with him. Among all nations, as 
well as individuals (except the Flat-head Indians), the organ of self- 
esteem is unchecked in its development — "in testimony whereof," 
the great mass of the Mexican people regard the sovereigns of the 
United States, just as the sovereigns of the United States regaru 
them. We are free to denounce them as half-civilized cut-throaty 
and they retort by calling us adventurous barbarians ; while in either 
case, perhaps the epithets deserve to be modified. True, the people 
of the two nations diftt:;r as widely as the poles, in their habits, pur- 
suits, and conceptions of what constitutes refinement, yet many of these 
differences, unimportant in the abstract, are the result of the preju- 
dice of education. Unalterable as were my prepossessions — strong 
as my antipathies — I have seldom been more favorably impressed 
with the appearance of any city, than I was after strolling through 
the broad streets of Zacatecas. In many respects it will compare 
favorably with some of the large cities of the United States. The 
buildings are of all sizes, fashions, and colors, from one to three stories 
hio-h, the greater portion of which are constructed in the old Spanish 
style, with a court-yard in the center, which is often used as a stable. 
This makes a close neighborhood, and establishes a familiarity be- 
tween the inmates of the house and stable, on many accounts disa- 
greeable, but neither the one class or the other seem to mind it, for 
they appear to entertain the utmost respect for each other. There is 
one appendage about their better class of houses deserving praise 
above all others — the delightful balconies that almost universally 
grace them. To these is often added, on a level with the first floor. 



IN MEXICO. 



61 



•a corridor or gallery, in which more airy situation the families spend 
the greater portion of their time, breakfasting, dining, or torturing- 
some musical instrument, among which the guitar comes in for its 
full share of punishment. The doors and windows are on an exten- 
sive scale, the latter having neither sash nor glass, are filled with iron 
bars, through the broad interstices of which nothing but one's own 
sense of good breeding prevents him from seeing what the family are 
about within. It is the fashion to arrange some half a dozen chairs 
within, near the window, facing each other, where the company will 
sit gazing at, and talking to, each odrer with great vivacity. In pass- 
ing through the streets innumerable groups of this kind may be seen, 
while elsewhere he may find them seated at a table playing monte, 
3^d often dancing, as if their salvation, like that of the shakers, de- 
pended on the exercise of their heels. 

The stores and shops of the city, which are for lire most part un- 
der the supervision and control of females, appeared to be well sup- 
plied with every variety of foreign goods that had found their way 
in through the ports on the Pacific, previous to the blockade. Busi- 
ness was said to be dull, owing to the fact that stealing had greatly 
improved since the war ; and a number of the merchants were sell- 
ing off at auction. At their auction sales a large forum is erected 
on the public square or plaza, in which a spear is fixed, surmount- 
ed by the Mexican colors. This is after the original Roman fash- 
ion, and the bidding is signified by holding up the fingers. The 
alcalde's permission is always necessary before the sale is confirmed. 
The forum is generall3r crow-ded with silver-smiths, or rather bank- 
■ers' shops, where the articles sold are registered and sealed. By them 
the names of the buyers are noted, and the goods delivered under the 
authority of the alcalde. In this manner a semblance of the supre- 
macy of law and order is kept up, while the small retail thieves sel- 
dom fail to come in for their share. Occasionally one of them is 
detected and punished. If the value of the stolen property amounts 
to more than six reals {75 cents), the thief is condemned to serve in 
the army — if under that amount, he is taken to the market place, 
undressed, and publicly whipped, with a thick, raw-hide lash, on his 
naked back ; just as if eternal disgrace would arouse his sense of 
honor. One can get accustomed to every thing but such brutality, 
and a Mexican often gets accustomed to that, for I saw one laugh 
after he had been beaten till he bled. 

The laws seem to oppose no restraint upon gambling, every spe- 
cies of which is indulged in publicly. Women, with their monte- 
banks, are to be seen at every turn and corner of the streets. A 
legalized system of lotteries, also, serves not only to lure the popula- 
tion from the ordinary pursuits of industry, but sinks their whole 
lives in the vortex of uncertain chance. This is owing chiefly to 
Ihe cheapness of tickets, which puts it in the power of the vcr^ 
poorest to become adventurers. The most fascinating feature in a 
Mexican lottery is the worst. Tickets can be purchased for one 



52 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

veal (12| cents), whish in half an hour may gain fifteen hundred 
dollars. This induces all the poor people to take lottery stock, and 
servants sometimes rob their masters to procure the means. The 
doors of the numerous offices are always thronged, for the drawino- 
does not cease. These offices are also kept by the women, to whom 
the government delegates the privilege, and it is not uncommon to 
hear an old hag cry out, '' who will buy my dream, I dreamt of 
three numbers." The ugly women depend on their dreams to effect 
sales, while the young and beautiful attract customers by their be- 
Avitching smiles, which on Sundays are accompanied by some wild 
chant on the guitar. 

Moralizers in our own country complain because the mail is con- 
veyed, and steamboats are permitted to run on Sunday. They ought 
to go to Mexico. There it is the gayest, noisiest, and most business- 
like day in all the week, and there their doctrines of reform might 
he preached to some purpose. The streets of Zacatecas are kept in 
one continual uproar, and the noise of omnibuses, diligences, wagons, 
ehurch-goers, water-carriers, grocers, and peddlers, seldom dies away 
before midnight. In the morning, at six o'clock, the bells of over 
sixty churches summon the people to mass. The performances are 
then slightly varied during the day. In the forenoon the regular ser- 
vice comes off, and the churches are surrounded by a host of carriages 
and wagons — men and women selling to the visiters fruits, cakes, 
pulque, and play-things. A crowd of lazaroni, half-naked, occupy 
the entrance, demanding charity. In strange contrast with this filthy, 
indolent crowd, is the Mexican priest, who, in his long flowing gar- 
ments, covered with gold and silver, as a true and humble disciple 
of Jesus, passes majestically by them, as if a soul could never tab- 
ernacle in such an humble looking tenement. 

Desiring to make the most of our time, we visited the cathedral, 
in company with Dr. Hetzel, who not only knew all the crooks and 
turns of the city, but the history, of almost every important event 
connected with it. The cathedral is situated on Calk de Patria 
(Patriot street), and we soon came in front of its vast sculptured fig- 
ures that have frowned or smiled down upon the street below for a 
hundred years. On or near the spot where it stands the first church 
in the province was erected about three hundred years ago. More 
than two centuries after this, the edifice was entirely destroyed by 
fire, and was rebuilt by the munificence of Hidalgo, a celebrated 
priest-general, who flourished his brief hour in the days of the rev- 
olution. It is an enormous pile, the construction of which occupied 
over twenty years. It would be idle to enter into an architectural 
criticism upon this church, but I may be allowed to say that were it 
not for its jumble of ornaments, by which all the effect of simplici- 
ty — one of the highest elements of beauty — is lost, it would be re- 
garded with the most profound admiration by every beholder. The 
entrance is by three marble porches. It has two towers resting on 
the walls, one of which is remarkable for having been built with 



IN MEXICO. 53 

money paid for indulg-ences to eat meat in Lent. The spire at the 
junction of the nave and transepts, is built of cast iron bars, with a 
geometrical staircase winding its way to the top, some 400 feet. It 
looks much like the frame of a steeple, but very little like a steeple 
itself The interior is about 420 feet in length, and the height of 
the vaulting of the nave is 87 feet. The effect of the interior is ex- 
ceedingly imposing, and is greatly heightened by the fine rose, and 
other windows of beautifully stained glass. It was not so much, 
however, on account of the beauty of Gothic arches and pictured 
windows, through which a flood of richly-colored light was shed 
over the delicate tracery and sculptured saints, or poured along the 
extended aisles, that I lingered in this cathedral. It was to dwell 
upon the lineaments of the proud priest's countenance. He was the 
son of Hidalgo himself, and was officiating in the funeral ceremo- 
nies of his distinguished father, whose remains had been exhumed 
fi-om their narrow home at Dolores, to be deposited in the chapel at 
the cathedral in Zacatecas. He possesses the religious, but not the 
military, qualities of his father. 

The churches of Mexico are not furnished with seats or pews, as 
in the United States ; and on entering one is struck, not only with 
the uneasy and uncomfortable position of a large congregation on 
their knees, on a hard brick floor, but by the gold and silver pillars 
and ballustrades which surround the altar, the rich gold altar itself, 
and the countless images of saints and angels, with expanded wings, 
looking down from their eminent positions, as if to guard and bless 
the groups of half-clad and penitent men and women, kneeling 
around the altar beneath them. 

The most implicit confidence is placed in the power of the saints, 
and the variety of distinct offices they have to perform, makes their 
catalogue so extensive, that he who is not particularly interested in so- 
liciting their favors will seldom become familiar with their names. 
One of these saints, it does not matter about his name, is said to preside 
over Hymenial affairs, and the young ladies frequently pray to him 
for husbands till the drops of perspiration roll down their bare necks 
like the sources of a young river. This is really "getting into a 
sweat " for a husband, but it serves to show that they are free from the 
sin of coquetery. If they become favorably impressed with the ap- 
pearance of a young man, they are unremitting in their devotional ex- 
ercises, and, through their petitions to the saint, almost invariably suc- 
ceed in lassoing his affections. This saint enjoys the moral rejjuta- 
tion of never having directly interfered in granting a prayer which 
would deprive a married woman of her husband, but has frequently 
broken off engagements, at the earnest request of a pretty girl — a de- 
cided mark of gallantry, notwithstanding his absolute power over 
the affections of the young. 

In connection with this subject a most amusing circumstance oc- 
curred on the morning of the fifth day after our arrival at the city. 
Mr. Cunningham (one of my companions), being a man oi fine per- 



54 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

sonal appearance, was called up at four o'clock by a man who deliv 
ered a note from a lady to whom he had been" introduced a day or 
two previous, and with whom he had a very slight acquaintance, 
stating that her husband had died on the previous evening, and beg- 
ged he would hasten to her assistance, as she had been most devoutly 
praying for him. He called upon the disconsolate widow, agreeable 
to her request, and has since often wished that the saint had granted 
her prayer, and thrown him into the arms of this Delila, instead of 
a prison-printing office. 

But I have not completed an enumeration of the amusements that 
occupy a Mexican Sunday. Among the most interesting to the citi- 
zens was a bull light, which came olT in the public plaza, at 2 o'clock 
in the evening. So infatuating to the natives is this spectacle, that 
they would leave their prayers or meals half finished to witness it ; 
though one sight will generally satisfy the curiosity of an American. 
The price of admission to the seats within the plaza was one dollar, 
where a promiscuous crowd of some ten thousand persons had aS' 
sembled, composed of men, women, and children, of every rank and 
station. Two bands of music, the instruments consisting of drums, 
violins, violoncellos, guitars, flageolets, and French horns, besides the 
horns of five bulls, were engaged for the occasion. A man on horse- 
back and three picadores, or footmen, were to fight the bulls, one at 
a time. The animals are confined in a small enclosure, adjoining the 
amphi-theatre, and after torturing each one about half an hour, with 
sharp iron-pointed poles, ornamented with ribons, the gate is hoisted 
and he rushes into the plaza, with long strips of crimson silk depend- 
ing from his horns and tail, and roaring like a full grown lion. His 
sonorous bellowings are soon drowned, however, by the deafening ac- 
clamations of the crowd, and the horseman dressed in a cloak of rich 
and variegated colors rushes upon the l)rute with his lance. It was 
the bull's turn next, and being a strong, healthy looking fellow, foam- 
ing with rage, he thrust his horns into the horse and gored him to 
death in an instant. The rider and picadores vamosed, or vanished, 
as speedily as possible ; but soon returned to renew the attack upon 
their adversary, who stood twisting his tail in conscious triumph. In 
making his second charge the horseman caught the bull by the tail, 
and passing it under his leg, wheeled his horse and brought his ad- 
versary to his knees, when he again wheeled and inflicted a severe 
incision in the bulls neck with his lance. At this the bull became 
rather "cowed," and was hissed ofi' the stage. The second bull was 
then let in, and pitched into the horseman in the same unceremoni- 
ous manner, but not with the success of his predecessor. A lick in 
the short ribs, by one of the picadores' pike poles, felled him to the 
ground, when they proceeded to pin a number of lighted rockets t( • 
his neck, the explosion of which instead of frightening the poor 
brute, as I presumed it would, caused him to stare in a most sarcastic 
and contemptuous manner at his persecutors. He then approached 
in a most menacing mood within a few feet of one of the footmen, 



IN MEXICO. 



55 



but the skill of the latter in wielding his sharp stick, enabled him to 
stand his ground and pierce the enraged animal till the blood gushed 
profusely from his nostrils, and he fell amid a shower of applause 
from the spectators. But the triumph was reserved for the last bull, 
who turned the after-piece into thrilling tragedy, somewhat in viola- 
tion of the general programme. He was a lean, gaunt looking quad- 
ruped, but blessed with the nerve of a Hercules. Owing, perhaps, 
to his cadaverous appearance, they had not deemed it necessary to 
saw off the points of his horns, as they had those of the other ani- 
mals, and upon the very first assault he despatched one of the pica- 
dores by thrusting his horns through his body, and, as if proud of 
his victory, thus carried him half a dozen times around the ring, 
when he tossed his lifeless body into a crowd of children, breaking 
the arm of a machucka. This, however, although not in the bills, 
was a part of the sport, and was as loudly cheered as any other por- 
tion of the performance. Indeed there was some show of justice in 
giving the bull a round of applause, as the animal seemed to have 
no friends tliere ; and as it was next to be his turn, it was perhaps 
gratifying to die full of honors. The entertainment continued till the 
bull was victimized, when the company dispersed, all shouting at 
the top of their voices, "Ave Maria purisime los gallos viennen," 
which translated signifies, hail purest Mary, the chicken-cocks are 
coming! And proceeding to the cock-pit on the opposite side of the 
plaza, a great variety of the best specimens of that bird, so intimate- 
ly associated with the party politics of our own country, were found 
ready to indulge their war-like propensities for the gratification of 
those whom it is well ascertained would much rather "look on" than 
do any fighting themselves. There is no liiuit to the betting, or to 
the amounts staked, and I liave seen, more than once, fifty thousand 
dollars lost and won on a single cock-fight. 

Here the world is seen tossing around in all its splendor, and the 
innumerable vices that splendor generates, by a base perversion of all 
the elements of happiness. Drunken Indians congregrate at every 
corner to curse police otficers, and laugh at the women in their stiff 
Sunday petticoats ; while others scarcely clad at all, with half a dozen 
new editions at their heels, and one tied to their brown backs, prom- 
enade the thorouglifares, the very daguerreotypes of misery and 
shame. At night all this loose population assemble at different places 
of amusement — coffee-liouses, dancing saloons, &c., until the hour of 
midnight mass, when the churches are again thronged. 

But amidst all the confusion of tongues, the hum of a foreign lan- 
guage, the reckless poverty and unbridled vice, there are many re- 
deeming associations connected with our brief sojourn in Zacatecas. 
Of all places in the world, Mexico is the last, where a foreigner should 
xmdertake to preach morals, or instruct in manners, if he wish to 
avoid being considered a decided bore. It is quite certain that much 
of their treachery and distrust are the result of an oflicioiis interfer- 
ence by foreigners, who have endeavored to instruct them in their 



gg IN MEXICO. 

social and domestic relations. We were not there as raissionarieSj 
and our only prayers were, in the language of Florida's motto, "to 
be let alone." We visited the silver mines, in the adjacent moun- 
tains, which are among the richest in Mexico. Although not so ex- 
tensively worked as they were some years ago, over twelve thousand 
men are employed in the mines, and more than three thousand per- 
sons in the mint, which is second in importance to that in the city 
of Mexico, and has frequently coined $75,000 in the short space of 
twenty-four hours. The mines are entered by deep caverns cut in 
the sides of the mountains, through solid quartz, sometimes gradually 
descending, and at others ascending, a parallel distance of two miles, 
always following the vein. The ore is contained in the stone, Avhich, 
when quarried, is ground into powder ; the dust is then thrown into 
great reservoirs of water, where the precious metals are detached 
through a chemical process. It is asserted upon good authority, that 
the richest gold mines in the world exist in the vicinity of Zacatecas, 
but the instability and unsettled state of the government has oflered 
no inducement to capitalists to engage in working them. We were 
shown the spot, at the confluence of two small streams, v.-hich wound 
through the steep and crooked ravines, where gold dust, valued at 
one million of dollars, was scraped up from the surface with the hand, 
only a few years ago by a French geologist. 

Among the greatest natural curiosities of the country is a cave in 
one of these towering mountains : which, although of no very great 
dimensions, exceeds in beauty and sublimity any thing of the kind 
I have ever visited. The principal entrance is from the west, on the 
bank of the Santander river, where a passage has been excavated by 
the hand of nature, sufficiently large to admit several persons abreast, 
and which is about sixty feet in length. At the extremity there is a 
sudden bend, or rather projection of the latteral rock which, when 
passed, gives an unexpected and magnificent view of the interior 
cavern, pre.senting a circular chamber some hundred feet in diameter. 
Stalactites, ever varying in form and color, lend their magic effect to 
the scene, and reflect the light beams from the entrance to every nook 
of the subterranean apartment. Near the center is a calcareous 
spring, which imparts a coolness to the atmosphere, grateful in the 
extreme to those who have just escaped the heat of a tropical sun. 
A tufa is deposited from the waters, which has risen in a circular 
mound more than twelve feet from the surface of the place. Over 
this, on every side, the water pours, producing a singular and pictur- 
esque fountain, and makes it a favorable resort at all seasons of the 
year. Belemnites are to be found in the interior, and occasionally 
masses of siliceous matter, and chrystalizations of salt. This shows 
a rather remarkable geological family connection, for while the stal- 
actites are indigenous to a moist climate, saline matter is usually con- 
fined to one inclined to dryness. Throughout these mountains mar- 
bles abound and present a great variety. The Kaolin clays, the 
alumine earths, and other minerals necessary to the arts, such as iron, 



IN MEXICO. gy 

copper, and lead, are found in innumerable places. Bituminous and 
anthracite coal are found in inexhaustible quantities, existinaf in moun- 
tain masses. The anthracite beds are directly accessible, requiring 
no sinking ef shafts, and there are no choke damps or gaseous ex- 
plosions to be encountered in reaching it. 

But the most desirable resort about the city is the garden of Anda- 
lusia, owned by Don Alonzo C4omeres. it contains an enclosure of 
some three thousand acres, and every thing is upon the most magni- 
ficent and instructive plan. The plants are set at a convenient dis- 
tance in rows, like a nursery, and grouped together in classes and 
families, according to the natural system of Jussieu. By each speci- 
men, elevated on a small rod, is placed a silver label, on which is in- 
scribed its botanical name and the country to which it belongs, 
with a character distinguishing whether it is annual, biennial, or per- 
rennial ; as also a black, red, yellow, or blue stripe across the top, 
denoting the plant to be poisoKous, medicinal, ornamental, or edible. 
Besides these smaller labels for each species, there were larger ones 
at the 'head of each class or tribe. Thus, commencing with the 
mushrooms, mosses, and other cyptogamous plants, at the extremitv 
of the enclosure, one can inspect row after row, gradually ascending 
to the proudest tree of the fore.st ; including in all, some fifteen thou- 
sand specimens of the vegetable kingdom. Here trees may be seen 
gi-o\viiig within trees, and in every wild, fantastic shape which both 
the ingenuity of man and nature combined, can invent. Orange trees 
are stripped of their branches, then perforated through the whole 
length, and through the roots to the ground beneath ; then young 
plants of the jessamine, fig tree, rose, and myrtle, are selected and ar- 
ranged in twos or threes, according to fancy, and the size of the aper- 
ture in the trunk of the orange tree, and passed through so as to reach 
a short distance above the top of the latter — the roots are then cov- 
ered with earth, watered and cultivated as if just planted. The tree 
and young plants then grow together, and will live and flourish for 
ten or fifteen years, presenting a most beautiful and novel appearance. 

In this garden I became acquainted with the celebrated huaco. aii 
herb so distinguished for its medicinal virtues, and Avhich is a certain 
antidote for poison. It belongs to the Gordonia genus ; and is a 
pretty shrub, growing from one to two feet high, with leaves petio- 
late, oblong, and toothed, shining above and pubescent beneath. The 
flower resembles that of the orange in both appearance and smell. 
The calyx has five unequal leaves, and the carolla has five spreading 
white petals like the rose. The first discovery of the medicinal 
qualities of the huaco is attributed to a large bird that feeds upon 
snakes and reptiles in the savannas of the south. Many years ago 
the natives observed that this bird, called the Guayaquil, after a com- 
bat with a snake, would search for the herb and eat it ; hence they 
supposed it to be an antidote for poison, which experience has proved 
to be correct. An internal afTection may be speedily cured by chew- 
ing the herb and swallowing the extract, while the extract is applied 



58 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

externally to remedy the bite of a snake, llie herb is also said t& 
be an effectual cure in cases of hydrophobia ; and so highly appre- 
ciated are its virtues, that a Mexican is seldom' found traveling with- 
out it. 

The manufactures of Zacatecas are inferior to those even of its 
neighboring cities. A kw coarse cotton and woolen cloths are made, 
but the chief interest of the people is attracted to mining and mer- 
chandising. There are a number of potteries in the city, where a 
variety of wares are manufactured. The potters work in the open 
air, and shape their vcork with remarkable dexterity, on a simple 
Avheel, horizontally arranged, and revolving close upon the ground, 
so as to permit them to sit, according to the custom of all lazy people. 
These wares are bumed in large open ovens. They make tiles, and 
water and cooking pots; but the finer wares, maiiufactured in other 
cO'Untries, are unknown to them. Their most curious article is a 
large ves.sel for holding grain, much the shape of a Chinese jar, and 
capable of containing several bushels. 

Among the better and more intelligent classes in the province of 
Zacatecas, may be numbered more enthusiastic admirers of our own 
institutions, than in any other state of Mexico. The federal or state 
rights' party have ever been in the ascendancy there, and cast the 
vote of the province, at the last presidential election for Jose Maria 
Lafragua, the acting Governor, who was prompt in denouncing the 
measures of Santa Anna, as far back as the Texan revolution. He 
is a man of some experience in government and political philosophy; 
and although seduced by the rapid advancement and complete free- 
dom of the United States, he would not countenance the dismember- 
ment of the Mexican provinces ; while he frankly confesses that a want 
of intelligence and energy among his own countrymen renders them 
incompetent to sustain a compact similar in construction. There ia 
a great difference between the condition of the United States, found- 
ed and established under the shelter of institutions approaching re 
publicanism, and that of the Mexican provinces, Avhich have foi 
three hundred years depended on a monarchical and despotic gov 
ernment. In the latter, democratic forms wcie new, and many of 
them opposed to the customs, habits, and inveterate prejudices of th« 
people. In the former, little else was necessary but to vary the ap 
pointment of officers. Even the constitutional charters and laws of 
some of the former provinces of the Urjitod States, answered for the 
same when transformed into republican States. In Mexico it was 
necessary to change almost eveiy thing which existed. Th«re is 
nothing wonderful, therefore, in the anarchy which has character- 
ized their existence — the laws were not adapted to the people. Mex- 
icans who possess a knowledge of the world and of men, are fully 
apprised of these things ; and it was a sense of the utter helplessness 
of their position, under a government without character or stability, 
that induced the Zacatecans to join Texas, in throwing off the yoke 
of a central and military despotism, to form an. independent govern- 



IN MEXICO. 59 

ment. Less fortunate than their new neighbors, they then received 
a reproof, the details of Avhich, for the credit of civilization, have 
never come to the ear of the world. With the bloody butcheries of 
Santa Anna and his forces in Texas, most of us have become some- 
what familiar ; but of the dark and disgraceful cruelties which 
marked his advance through Zacatecas, we shall have no complete 
record. It was a most unhappy period, and if the sins of Sodom 
and Gomorrah were enough to sink those cities, I could not imag- 
ine a punishment the severity of which would be comparatively ap- 
})ropriate in Santa Anna's case. At the head of military and civil 
authority, he marched an army among his own people, not only to 
murder, but to outrage their hearths and altars. A fother had no 
security that his daughter or wife would not be corrupted by the offi- 
cers of his own country, by means of the terror which they inspired, 
and the influence which their situation imparted. Any officer, who 
wished to free himself from the importunate presence of a father or 
a husband, or who desired to get possession of his property, insti- 
tuted a process against him as an insurgent, and was sure that his 
superiors would applaud his zeal in the service of Santa Anna. No 
case of this kind made a more profound and lasting impression upon 
the inhabitants of Zacatecas, nor manifested more clearly the extent 
to which cruelty was carried, than that of Leonor Rovira. She was 
a young and handsome female, enthusiastically attached to liberty, 
favoring and giving aid to the oppressed patriots, and to those who, 
in the darkest hour had resolved to fly to the plains of Texas, from 
whence they hoped that freedom might yet come to their own prov- 
ince. She loved and was beloved by a j^outh who had been an offi- 
cer of the province, and was now compelled to serve as a common 
soldier, in the desolating army of Santa Anna. Through the influ- 
ence she possessed over him, he was induced to desert, and fly to 
Texas. Leonor made arrangements for the flight of a number of 
other persons, of whom several Avere of the army. She procured 
exact statements of Santa Anna's forces, with lists of the names of 
patriots and other persons who could be trusted, all of which she 
transmitted to Gen. Houston. Her lover and his companions were 
discovered and apprehended in their flight. The letters and other 
papera betrayed Leonor, who was with them thrown into prison. 
The cause was tried by martial law. and during its progress this 
young female is said to have manifested much presence of mind and 
the most unshaken courage. She would compromise no one by her 
declarations, and the judges could not elicit from her any confession 
of the means by which she procured the statements sent to Texas. 
Finally, she and forty others were condemned by a council of war to 
the punishment of death, and to be shot in the back. She is said 
to have heard the sentence v/ith the utmost composure and tranquil- 
ity, preparing herself for death like a Christian and a heroine — and 
walking to the place of execution with a firm step, she bitterly re- 
proached her murderers for their barbarous cruelty. And exhorting 



^Q DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

her companions to die with the character and firmness of freemen, 
she announced, in a clear and audible voice, that her hlood would 
soon he avenged by the deliverers of her oppressed and degraded 
country. She was shot in the principal plaza. Her constancy and 
courage astounded even the iron hearts of a rapacious soldiery, and 
the memory ot her premature sacrifice has doubtless served to kee^ 
alive the burning embers of revolt in Zacatecas, to the present day. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

IMPENDING DIFFICULTIES-SANTA ANNA AT SAN LUIS POTOSI-PRIESTS 
HEADING GUERRILLA PARTIES-ARRIVAL OF A DETACHMENT FROM SAN- 
TA ANNA'S ARMY-RECAPTURED BY THE MEXICANS-ARREST OF CITI- 
ZENS OF ZACATECAS-MARCH TO SAN LUIS POTOSI-MEXICAN SOLDIERS 
AND THEIR MANNER OF ENLISTING— CITY AND PRISON OF SAN LUIS PO- 
TOSI-EXECUTION-MODE OF INFLICTING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT-imiTA- 
TION TO JOIN THE MEXICAN ARMY-OUR INDIGNANT REFUSAL-DEPART- 
URE FOR ACAPULCO-ESTATE OF JORAL-DOLORES-CITY AND CHURCHES 
OF GUANAJUATO. 

The endearments of home and friends — the love one bears for his 
native land, and the partiality he feels for its institutions, can never 
be fully realized till placed beyond their reach and influence. Then 
it is that the natural yearning of the heart will vividly recall en- 
dearing as.sociations ; and burying all the little animosities and faults 
we may find with our government when at home — he will be sensi- 
ble only to its virtues and its blessings. It is a remarkable, though 
a very inconsistent, trait in the character of an American, that how- 
ever much he may dissent, dispute, deplore, in the heat of party con- 
flict at home — and even prophecy the impending ruins which are to 
be the inevitable result of each succeeding presidential election — 
let him hear the very same sentiments uttered in a foreign land, or 
the eteiTial permanency of his country's institutions for a moment 
doubted, and his indignation will have no bounds. In the true 
Yankee spirit, he will ever be found ready to " argue the question," 
by contrasts, which are always sure to redound to his own ad- 
vantage. 

We had been one week in Zacatecas. Although in the full en- 
joyment of personal freedom, the circum.stance of our release had to 
some extent exasperated the authorities, and with no assurance of 
safety for any definite period, the approach of the American army 
was daily looked for with an anxious degree of solicitude. 

Santa Anna was at this time concentrating his forces at San Luis 
Potosi, only 190 miles distant, where he had arrived on the 8th of 
October, bur former captors had not been seen after holding a con- 



IN MEXICO. 61 

saltation with the priests and authorities, on the memorable morning- 
of our release. Companies of soldiers and rancheros were to be 
seen in the streets, however, at almost any hour ; and Santa Anna 
having issued his most eloquent appeals to the clergy, many of them 
were induced to doff their sacerdotal robes, for the trnie, and join in 
the last desperate struggle to retain their supremacy. The priests, 
ever jealous of their power and influence, even became so fanatical 
as to place themselves at the head of guerrilla parties, raised in the 
neighboring mountains. Weak and apparently inactive as these 
bands at first were, they daily gathered new strength, till they began 
to assume a more intimidating character. Although formidable in 
point of numbers, the peace party had issued no pronunciamento^ 
which is the first act preparatory to a revolution. They gave unre- 
served expression to their opinions, yet they assumed no attitude of 
open hostility towards tjre authorities of the central government. 
Revolt was not surmised either by the friends or enemies of Santa 
Anna, and the avowed object of the guerrilla bands was to join a 
division of his forces to be sent from San Luis Potosi in the event 
of Gen. Taylor's expected arrival. 

Those accustomed to a well-regulated government seldom feel se- 
cure in Mexico, either in their persons or property ; and at this cri- 
sis many of those who had figured rather conspicuously in the peace 
party, would have evacuated the place had not retreat been more 
hazardous than to remain. Their only hope, as well as our own, 
was in the advance of " Old Rough and Ready," who at that time 
would have been welcomed in a much more hospitable manner than 
he was at Monterey. 

On the 13th of 'November the thunder of artillery announced the 
approach of an army, and it is impossible to portray the confusion 
and out-bursts of enthusiastic rejoicing it created among all classes. 
The peace party hailed it as Gen. Taylor's anticipated advent, the 
authorities and clergy knew it to be a detachment from San Luis 
Potosi, while others, enveloped in total ignorance, shouted because 
the crowd did. 

The mystery was soon revealed, however, when the green rounda- 
bouts of the Mexicans became visible, and the army, over three thou- 
sand strong, under command of Gen. Requina, marched into the 
city and quartered on the principal plaza. It was soon ascertained 
that this force had been despatched by Santa Anna, to quell certain 
indications of revolt in the city of Zacatecas, of which the clergy 
had promptly given him information. 

The night which followed was one of consternation and horror. 
It was just one month from the date of our captivity at Camargo. 
and one week after our release from the hands of cruel and unfeelino- 
tyrants at Zacatecas. With Dr. Hetzel, John Allman, Lucius En- 
field, and George B. Gentry, all Americans, we were the first to be 
arrested. After the arrests commenced, many escaped through the 
gates, and took refuge in the neighboring mountains, while hundreds 



62 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

of citizens were dragged from their homes, and placed under guard, 
to be tried as rebels, their property confiscated and destroyed, and 
their sanctuaries entered and desecrated by the mob. The citi- 
zens, unarmed, could make no resistance against a force which, in- 
cluding the guerrilla bands, amounted to more than seven thousand 
men, had they been disposed to do so, and they submitted to trial. 
Many were discharged, others were condemned to serve in the army; 
while we, with six other Americans, were sent to San Luis Potosi, 
and again incarcerated in the common prison, with the most aban- 
doned felons. 

If we had before held our lives by a precarious tenure, what 
could we now expect, after inciting almost a rebellion and arousing 
the indignation of Santa Anna himself We had never entertained 
a very flattering opinion of his humane disposition, and his former 
persecution of the Zacatecans, with a knowledge of his cruelty to 
the Texans, was poorly calculated to elevate him in the esteem of 
any one. 

Approaching San Luis Potosi, from Zacatecas, we passed through 
the flourishing towns of Pinos, Ojocaliente, and Aguascaliente, each 
contaniing some 12,000 or 15,000 inhabitants. 

Under a strong guard, we entered the city of San Luis Potosi, on 
the evening of November 19th, preceded by a large company of 
new recruits for the Mexican army. These recruits consisted of In- 
dians, who had been forced from their homes — and required to serve 
during the campaign. Their hands were bound to their backs, and 
they were paired ofl' and tied together. This is the manner in which 
the ranks of their army are filled, so that it is little wonder they ex- 
press great surprise at our system of volunteering.' 

San Luis Potosi is situated in the valley of the Panuco, a river fall- 
ing into the Gulf at Tampico, and which might be navigable for 
steamboats as far up as Tula, over one hundred miles from the 
muuth, and seventy miles below the city. In importance it is the 
second city in the republic — in population the third — containing 
60,000 inhabitants. It is located in a rich mining region ; but from 
some cause these sources of wealth have been greatly neglected 
within the past ten years, and the attention of the citizens directed 
more to manufacturing. The Panuco river affords excellent facili- 
ties for manufacturing, which are to some extent improved. Wool- 
en and cotton cloths, hats, boots and shoes, and other articles, are 
here made for exportation to all the surrounding provinces. Some 
attention is also paid to education, and they have a magnificent col- 
lege. The buildings of this institution, together with those of the 
mint, Governor's palace, and cathedral, present a commanding view. 
The buildings generally are inferior in size, and mostly constructed 
of stucco. 

The prison at San Luis Potosi is on a more extensive scale than 
that at Monclova, and includes within its walls a much larger fami- 
ly. On the morning of the 20th of November, after remaining in 



IN MEXICO. 03 

the prison over night, we were all conducted to the gate, passing by 
the place of execution, in one corner of the large walled square, 
where the officers were fulfilling the ends of justice, by executing a 
lot of condemned criminals. There was so little ceremony attend- 
ing their operations, and such a carelessness about their manner, that 
we did not dream they were performing the work of death. As our 
G^uard delayed to open the ponderous gate, however, and we saw 
ihem toss two dead bodies into rough looking boxes, placed on 
equally rough wagons with wooden wheels, we were apprised of the 
nature of their employment, and, indeed, began to think we might 
probably be the next victims. Their manner of inflicting capital 
punishment is more refined than in the United States : In the first 
place, they do not make a public spectacle of an execution. Within 
the walls of the prison enclosure, the condemned- culprit is seated in 
a chair, when an iron collar is placed around his neck, made to ex- 
pand or contract, as may be necessary. In the back part of this is 
inserted a sharp pointed spike, moved at pleasure by the executioner 
by means of a screw, and on turning which the spinal marrow is pen- 
etrated by the point, causing instant death. This ingenious machine-, 
for the perpetration of legalized murder, is called the garotte. 

As we beheld this scene of dissolution between body and soul, we 
felt that the last ray was quivering upon the dial-plate of our own 
destiny. To be forcibly driven into the presence of Santa Anna — 
into the very grasp of his insatiate soldiery, was enough to make us 
think seriously of preparing our last will and testament. But we 
had not yet suffered enough to glut their cruel propensities, and 
marching us to the barracks, they gave us to understand that we were 
to serve in the republican army of Mexico ! We all joined in thank- 
ing them for this mark of proffered promotion, but declined, stating 
that if they would spare our lives till the American forces commenced 
knocking at their gates, and they had any curiosity in seeing us fight, 
we might give them a specimen, by exercising our organs of com- 
bativeness under other colors. It was an insult that our sense of pa- 
triotism could not brook, and we felt it more keenly than all the out- 
rages we had endured. 

Santa Anna did not make his appearance in person, but finding 
our resolution to place at defiance such a demand, irrevocably fixed, 
he sent his kitchen general (Requina) to imform us that we were to 
be immediately marched off to Acapulco. What object he could 
have had in view in sending us to that miserable place, has never re- 
vealed itself to me. Acapulco is a port of some importance on the 
coast of the Pacific, nearly eight hundred miles from San Luis Po- 
tosi, and owing to the malignity of the climate, and the still more 
malignant character of the inhabitants, few who go there ever return 
alive. 

Through our new associates, who had been brought from Zacate- 
cas, and who were to accompany us to Acapulco, we learned that 
Santa Anna had been informed by the clergy of the former place, that 



54 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

we had been captured as spies. In no other way could we acccant 
■for the apparent lenity bj'' which our lives were prolonged, than to at- 
tribute it to their desire that the catalogue of our sufferings should 
be complete in this world, before despatched on a mission to eternity. 
Accordingly, under new masters, commissioned by Santa Anna to 
guard us, we commenced our journey to the Pacific, on the 20th of 
November. Including the new accession from Zacatecas, our own 
party was now swelled to nine in number, while our guard, increas- 
ing in a greater ratio, consisted of forty-six, well armed, able-bodied, 
and mounted men. We could not but think of the disappointment of 
poor Poco Llama and his rancheros, and although treated with more 
humanity, we almost regretted the transfer; for we had abandoned 
all former hope of returning to our own country, and instead of ex- 
pecting to be sold into slavery, with a prospect of being released at 
the termination of hostilities, we felt, as we ploded on towards the 
setting sun, that 

"Our hearts, like muffled drums, were beating 
Funeral marches to the grave." 

Thirty miles from San Luis Potosi we entered the dominions of 
the almost unlimited estate originally owned and occupied by the 
house of Jorol, of the Spanish nobility. This is represented to be 
the largest and most magnificent estate in Mexico. At the commence- 
ment of the revolution, the amount of stock was reputed to number 
350,000 head, and the tenantry engaged in cultivating the grounds 
to over 30,000 men. In extent of territory these possessions will 
equal about four of our ordinary counties, and the single farm is 
larger than the State of Delaware. The unsettled policy of the 
country has driven the proprietor from his possessions, and the estate 
now bears evident marks of decay and dilapidation. Another im- 
mense hacienda is Dolores, the original seat of Hidalgo, the leader 
of the first revolutionary movement in Mexico. Near the center of 
this estate, comprising some 20,000 square miles, is the town of Do- 
lores, with a population of 7,000. 

Four days travel brought us to Guanajuato, on the Sierre Santa, the 
capital of the province of the same name, situated in the richest min- 
ing regions in all Mexico, and containing 40,000 inhabitants. I 
have never seen a more quaint and singular city than Guanajuato. 
The street by which we entered the place is broad and straight 
enough for a Philadelphian, but the moment we left it, and turned 
off into the narrow, hilly avenues, we were in a perfect labyrinth. 
They are so narrow and crooked that carriages can scarcely pass 
each other in the most of them. Our guard here took the precaution 
to dismount, in order to convev us through the city in a hollow square 
kind of procession. In these narrow streets there are no side-walks, 
and but for the commanding appearance of our crowd, upon which 
all eyes were turned, we should have been crushed against the build- 
ings by some lumbering dilligence. Threading the torturous and 



IN MEXICO. 55 

crowded lanes, we frequently came out upon some magnificent 
church, which if it could be made to stand apart from the world of 
small buildings, tumbled in together as if about knee-deep around it, 
would be regarded as almost a wonder of architecture ; and which 
even now, with the imperfect view which can be obtained, between 
unmannerly dwellings and ware-houses, charms the beholder like 
the glimp'ses of a fairy scene. Hurried through the city as we were, 
there was little opportunity to acquire much knowledge of its char- 
acter or extent ; but I could not help noticing the antique buildings, 
the unusually active and energetic population, and the strange dress- 
es that were perhaps* in the height of style about a century ago. 
Passing through the city to the suburbs, we stopped for the night in 
a convent building, not exactly among the nuns, but with the padre 
of the place, whom we found remarkably hospitable and inquisitive. 
The heavy rains which commenced falling, detained us here till the 
middle of the following day, when we left for Valladolid. 



CHAPTER IX. 

ARRIVAL AT VALLADOLID-CURIOSITY OF THE CITIZENS-A FRENCH PUB- 
LISHER-HIS HISTORY-ANOTHER SENTENCE OF DEATH-NEGOTIATION 
FOR OUR RELEASE-" BARGAIN AND INTRIGUE "-SOLD INTO SLAVERY- 
MEXICAN CHARACTER-OUR PRICE-DR. BARRY-A MEXICAN PRINTING 
OFFICE -SPANISH PRINTERS-EL REPUBLICANO-SUPPORT AND CHARAC- 
TER OF MEXICAN NEWSPAPERS. 

In ten days we performed a journey of 3 10 miles, and arrived in the 
city of Valladolid on the evening of December 1st, 1846. The day 
had been the occasion of some religious festival, and the streets and 
public houses were so thronged that our guard determined to confine 
ys during the night in the city prison, that they might, unembarrass- 
ed, participate in the concluding ceremonies, which we understood 
were to consist of afandang-o and masquerade. 

After a delegation had been dispatched for the keeper of the pris- 
on, and to make the necessary arrangements for our security, many 
of the citizens crowded in the meso7i to get a sight at us. Had our 
guard been gifted with a little of that Yankee tact Avhich turns 
every thing to count in the way of a " shilling," they might have 
made a handsome "speculation" by exhibiting us. The marvelous- 
ness of the natives was excited to a greater extent than is usually 
manifested by the boys of our own villages in the United States, 
when the " show-men come to town." Indeed, we were great lions, 
in our way, for few of the citizens of Valladolid had ever seen a 
Yankee, and they opened their eyes, as if determined this opportu- 



gg DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

nity should not be unimproved. From among the crowd an elder 
ly looking man emerged, and advancing, accosted us in unbroken 
English — " Are you Amcricaii citizens t I had thought that that 
announcement was a free passport the world over." There was 
more meaning expressed in his countenance than his words, and 
although his bearing was rather scornful, his English surprised us ; 
but as it was the first sentence we had heard uttered in our language 
beyond our own immediate circle, since we left Zacatecas, we did 
not attempt to evade his presence or his interrogatories. We replied 
that had our memory ever been at all treacherous in regard to the 
place of our nativity, the contrast we had experienced in treatment, 
since passing beyond its borders, was calculated forcibly to remind 
us that we had once been citizens of the United States. 

The old man seemed inclined to continue the conversation, and scon 
revealed the most important facts connected with his individual and 
somewhat eventful history. He stated that his father's name, which 
was all he had inherited, was Mons. Buflam — that he himself was 
a native of France, but had in early life emigrated to England. In 
1835 he left England for the United States, and on landing at New 
York was so disgusted with its appearance, and the intense coldness 
of the climate, that he immediately sailed, with a cargo of goods for 
San Bias, on the Pacific coast. Cruising around to the small Eng- 
lish colony of Balize, he changed his destination to Acapulco, and 
anchoring in that harbor, at the time of the difficulties between Mex- 
ico and Texas, he found it an easy matter to purchase from the Mex' 
ican authorities a 'permit to import goods free of duty. On return- 
ing with his second cargo, he learned at the custom house that his 
perviit was worthless, as the former authorities had been deposed, 
after the battle of San Jacinto, and the new government was not re- 
sponsible for the private co?itracts of the old custom house officers. 
He sold out his cargo at a sacrifice, and abandoning the mercantile 
business in 1839, he had settled down in the city of Valladolid, 
Avhere he was engaged as one of the publishers of " El Republica- 
no " newspaper. 

In listening to him we manifested a degree of interest always 
gratifying to the narrator of events in which he is the master spirit ; 
and when, in turn, we came to tell him that we had for several years 
been connected Avitli the newspaper press of the United States, and 
that two of us were practical printers by profession, he evinced 
symptoms of confusion and surprise for which we were at a loss to 
account. Our interview was abruptly closed, however, by the com- 
mand of the guard, who gave us to understand that they awaited 
our company to prison. 

During the night and on the day following, our guard indulged 
freely in pulque, and had become so "gloriously drunk" as to 
apparently lose all their distinguished consideration of us. Towards 
evening, however, our new acquaintance of "El Republicano," 
accompanied by his associate, Senor Gomez Peyrelades, a native 



IN MEXICO, g'j 

Spaniard, and editor of the paper, visited and informed us that the 
commander of our guard (Gen. Requina), too beastly drunk to nav- 
igate himself, had ordered his men to conduct us from the prison, 
one at a time, and deliberately shoot us down in the public plaza. 
They then consulted us in regard to our willingness to serve them in 
the capacity of compositors, should they intercede and procure our 
release as prisoners. We did not long hesitate in choosing between 
being shot, going to Acapulco, or taking " siiuatie/is " in a printing 
office. In clinging to th-e latter " horn of the dilemma," we might 
possibly avail ourselves of an opportunity to escape, at least after the 
close of the war. 

After an absence of about an hour, during which time they held 
an interview with Gen. Requina, they returned and stated they had 
" come to terms " — that they had paid $1,900 in consideration of se- 
curing our services, for an indefinite period, and that if disposed to 
ratify the negotiation, we might signify our intentions by being 
guarded t© the printing office. 

Here was a scene for philo.sophical reflection. We had often ac- 
cused our brother editors of being " bought and sold." In the heat 
of party warfare we had been somewhat lavish in the use of such 
reproachful and disgusting epithets as "British Whigs " and "Bank- 
bought federalists." We had stigmatized our own countrymen as 
being sold into the servile slavery of party ; and had reprobated the 
idea of " ichite slaverp," in the most earnest manner. But this was 
only the enthusiastic romancing incident to youth, led away by the 
tyranny of party discipline, in the excitement of a heated political 
contest. We had now come to experience some of the realities of a 
purchased editor, zrid humiliating as was the " bargain and intrigue'" 
to our native sense of justice, we found ourselves transferred into 
unlimited bondage. 

It was useless that we should demand the authority by which 
such an outrage upon our own feelings, as well as all rules of civ- 
ilization, was perpetrated. Power is the only authority recognized 
in Mexico, and if, as I have before remarked, men will sell their 
own souls, they will hardly hesitate to -sell the bodies of their ene- 
mies. 

The character of the great mass of that people may be assimi- 
lated to that of a spaniel dog. Give them 'ancontrolled sway and 
they are cruel and inhuman — but " the more you whip them the 
better they will like you " — and when subdued they are far more 
servile and humble than the negro slaves of our Southern states. 

Under all the circumstances, we had some reason to congratulate 
ourselves upon this change of masters. We had escaped from a 
second sentence to be shot down as common food for the more com- 
mon buzzards, while we had substantial evidence of the esteem in 
which Ave were held by our new owners, from the round sum they 
had paid for us. It is so natural, that when a price is set upon a 
man's head he is ambitious to bring as much as possible, and we 



gg DONNAVAW^S ADVENTURES 

consoled ourselves by a knowledge that we had sold for a greater 
amount than we could possibly have brought in our own country, 
even with a few dips in Etlieopian dye. 

[And here, although somewhat out of place, the author must be 
permitted to correct an erroneous statement which has appeared in the 
New York " Spirit of the Times," and the New Orleans " Delta," 
since his return to the United States. He has been " undervalued " by 
an article Avhich appeared in those papers, and copied into various 
other respectable prints, asserting that he had been sold for the corv- 
temptible sum of $350 ! The mistake is no doubt an innocent one, 
yet it is calculated to detract from the value of a printer — and for the 
credit of the craft, it should be anderstood that he not only sold for 
$950, but that his associate brought the same price.] 

Our mutual friend, Dr. Barry, being now left in confinement with 
tile Zacatecan prisoners, suggested that he should consider it an es- 
pecial favor if a similar disposition could be made of his person to an 
apothecary, if "hereabouts he dwelt." In fact he possessed ever)'' 
requisite qualification for that place, according to the idea of the poet,. 
for 

"■Sharp misery had worn liim to the bones; " 

and there is little doubt but that Gen. Requrna wouM have gladly 
dispensed with all the prisoners on similar conditions, but it seemed 
we had supplied the demand, In a few days, after becoming sober, 
the entire company departed for Acapulco with the other prisoners, 
leaving Mr. Cunningham and myself to enter upon our life-appren- 
Hiceship in a Mexican printing office. 

The office, which occupied the third story of a large stone build- 
ing, and is entered through a pylon, a court, and them a massive gate. 
was a perfect m^useum of curiosities to an American printer. The 
room was large and commodious, but filthy almost beyond descrip- 
tion. In printing, as well as other arts, mechanics, and agriculture, 
the Mexican people are at least two centuries behind the age. Their 
type and presses^ like tlieir muskets, are generally the worn out and 
cast-off materials from England. The old Ramagc presses were so 
venerable they could scarcely stand alone, and at each successive rev- 
olution of the rounce their shrieks would grate upon the ear, as if ex- 
ercise was as painful to them as to the Spanish printers who were 
torturing their poor old joints. There were two of these machines, 
each having a stone bed, and a ponderous weight, like a Dutch cheese 
press. The face of the type was barely visible, and it was with some 
difficulty one letter could be distinguished from another, while the 
body was worn as round as a rusty nail. Such an improvement as a 
roller had never been dreamed of, and the balls, long since banished 
from our western borders, there retain supremacy. An imposing stone. 
has never invaded the original prerogative of the press bed, and an 
iron chase would be regarded as a retrograde movement in " the art 
preservative of all arts." The chases, sticks, and galleys were all 



IN MEXICO, ^9 

composed of wood, though, being made of mahogany, they serve 
nearly as well as metal. The cases^ instead of being mounted on 
stands^ are spread out on the floor, as the Spaniard, being too lazy tc 
take a perpendicular position, prefers to sit down to set up type] and 
on a filthy mat, thrown out upon the floor, he sprawls himself at his 
occupation, where he will sometimes succeed in setting three thousand 
em's per day. In making up a newspaper form, the annrmcios^ or ad- 
vertisements, are inserted promiscuously with the reading matter, 
without any such encumbrances as brass rules. 

The Mexicans are by no means a literary people, and they have 
few newspapers. "El Repuhlicano" is a super-royal sheet, issued 
daily, resembling in mechanical appearance, Ann Royal's " Hu/dress,^' 
more than any other sheet to which I can compare it. It is sustain- 
ed by contributions from individuals and the government, and con- 
tains very little intelligence besides official announcements. Occa- 
sionally a horrible murder will adorn its columns; and it is a prevail- 
ing epidemic among the young people of the " upper ten," to give 
publicity to their amorous verses, generally stupid and prosy, but 
sometimes possessing the fire of poetry. 



CHAPTER X 

CITY OF VALLADOLID-CLIMATE AND PROI»'!rT.ONS->'OL0AN0 OF JORUL. 
LO-NEW THEORY OF THE GULF STREAM-CM SiSTMAS-BUILDINGS IN 
THE CITY-CUSTOMS OF THE INHABITANTS -MATRIYiONIAL INTRIGUES— 
MUSIC-GOVERNOR OF MECHOACAN, AND HIS PJ.AN OF WARFARE-IGNO- 
RANCE OF A MEXICAN EDITOR IN REGARD TO THE UNITED STATES-COR- 
WIN'S SPEECH-NEWS OF "THE BATTLE OF BUENA YISTA-GREAT REJOIC- 
ING-SENTIMENTS OF THE MASSES. 

Valladolid, the capital of the province of Mechoacan, is situated 
on the western declivity of the Cordillera of Auhua^. it contains a 
population of 27', 000, and is noted as being the scene of the first rev- 
olutionary movement in 1810, and the birth place of Iturbide, the 
first and only emperor, after the conquest by Cortez. It is about 
eleven hundred miles south from Camargo, one hundred and seventy 
west from the city of Mexico, and nearly two hundred east from 
Zacatula, the nearest port on the Pacific coast, at the mouth of the 
Balsas river. The valley of Auhuac is the Italy of America, where 
spring reigns unbroken. The mean temperature of the climate is 
70 degrees, Farenheit, never varying more than ten degrees. The 
productions of this immense valley consist of sugar, cotton, rice, co- 
coa, indigo, cochineal, oranges, lemons, pine-apples, grapes, palms, 



70 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

plantains, bananas, yams, figs, tamarinds, pomegranets, mangostanSj 
almonds, and every variety of tropical fruits. 

Among the majestic, in the natural way, Mechoacan has within 
her territorial limits, the magnificent volcano of Jorullo, of nearly 
one hundred years, and 1650 feet standing. In the fall of 1759, from 
a subterranean eruption, which covered with a sea of lava the broad 
plains of Malpais, rose the towering peak of Jorullo, which, although, 
constantly burning, seldom emits lava. At an elevation of 1450 feet 
above the base, it is covered with perpetual show. The only erup- 
tion, within the memory of the inhabitants, occurred about twenty- 
eight years ago, when it is said that the streets of Valladolid were 
covered with cinders and ashes to the depth of twenty inches. 

Recently a new and very plausible theory has been suggested, ac- 
counting not only for the high temperature of the waters of the Gulf 
of Mexico, but for the existence of the Gulf stream itself. It is sur- 
mised that a subterranean current, connecting the waters of the Pa- 
cific with those of the Gulf, passes through a cavity or excavation, 
caused by the eruptions of the five volcanoes — Coliraa, Jorullo, Popo- 
catapetl, Orizava, and Tuxtla, which are situated in nearly a direct 
line between the Pacific and the Gulf. Indeed, there is much evi- 
dence in support of this theory, the waters of the Pacific being at a 
considerable elevation above those of the Gulf, would afTord sufficient 
fall, and the great heat so increases their impetus, as to compel the 
current to the shores of Asia. Besides, I learned that in an attempt 
to sink an artesian well a few years since at Patzcuro, near Jorullo, 
and on a parallel line with the volcanos, the blue waters, resembling 
those of the Pacific, gushed up, already heated to a sufficient temper- 
ature to boil an egg. 

When Christmas arrived, the whole city was in comm.otion. All 
shops and business operations were closed for one week, to give full 
swing to religious ceremonies. Left to take care of our own souls, 
we could only amuse ourselves by looking out from our prison-house 
upon the Catholic processions in their strange cavortings and unac- 
countable gyrations through the streets ; and watch the various in- 
trigues and stolen glances among the belles and beaux. 

The warmth Ind geniality of the climate renders the use of glass 
in the windows entirely unnecessary, and to keep out intruders the 
windows are all grated with iron bars, about an inch in diameter, 
with shutters on the inside, to be closed when occasion may require 
it. These windows are very large, and open from the floor to the 
ceiling, and ■ being the most pleasant part of the house during the 
heat of the day, are almost always occupied by the ladies of the fam- 
ily. As the great majority of the houses are only one story high, 
and built close upon the streets, this custom of sitting in the windows 
affords fine opportunities for lovers to steal an occasionrd interview. 
The ladies being thus constantly exposed to the gaze of the publicj 
become accustomed to it, and do not deem it rudeness for entire 
strangers to stare at them, or even stop and ask them questions. But 



IN MEXICO. 71 

it was not long before we learned to distinguish when a favorite came 
along, as the lady would then manage tc get her lips through the 
interstices, to greet him with a hearty kiss. And they are not to 
be blamed for such advances, by any means ; for paternal tyranny is 
carried to excess in most of the cities of Mexico — a gentleman be- 
ing permitted to visit a lady but three or four times (and then only in 
the presence of her mother, aunt, or duenna\ before declaring his 
intentions. If his proposals are acceptable, the preliminaries of the 
marriage are forthwith arranged, without consulting the feelings of 
the one most interested. This being the case, it is not to be won- 
dered at that matrimonial infidelity and intrigue are so common 
among all classes, and that husbands and fathers should resort to 
bolts and bars to secure that virtue for their wives and daughters 
which should have been instilled into their minds from infancy. 

But notwithstanding all the vigilance of fothers and guardians, 
" love laughs at locksmiths," and lovers can invent a thousand ways 
to hold converse with each other ; so that elopements are as com- 
mon there as births in the " log cabin" of a Hoosier. The inferior 
classes usually sell their daughters when they become marriageable, 
for $100 — sometimes for less — and often for a " mess of pottage." 

We were at times the unperceived witnesses to matrimonial in- 
trigues, and although removed beyond the voices of the lovers, could 
not fail to anticipate their emotions from their earnest gestures ; 
which, if we interpreted aright, always signified that they would take 
g';eat pleasure in dying for each other. In the evenings we could 
sit upon the windows and listen to the " poor man's opera," which,, 
unlike the animated instruments by which he is regaled in our 
own country, consists of a band of musicians, who play on the plaza 
every night, from eight till ten o'clock, for the benefit of all who are 
susceptible of being "moved by the conchord of sweet sounds." 

During the first two months of our confinement, we were era- 
ployed in the composition of a " Reprint of the Ordinances of the 
city of Valladolid," which entitled us to an occasional visit from the 
Governor of thfi province (Melchor <Jcampo), who superintended the 
publication. He is among, if not at the very head of, the great men 
of Mexico, and was a candidate for president at the last election. 
Ocampo is about thirty-eight years of age, rather below the middling 
size, but well built. His fine olive complexion looks darker tiian 
it really is, from the jetty blackness of his hair, which hangs in 
ringlets aboui his face, and from his extensive mustachios and spark- 
ling black eyes. In his manners he is perfectly easy and gentle- 
manlike, and though the first impressions would be, from his extreme 
politeness, and continual smiles, that he was a good natured and silly 
fop, yet one could soon see iVom his keen, inquisitive glances, which 
involuntarily escaped him, that he concealed under an almost cliild- 
ish lightness of manner, a close and accurate study of mankind. 
He speaks fluently five languages ; and having been an accurate 
observer of human nature, can make his conversation extremely in- 



^2 DOIfNATAN'S AOTEJVTUR ES 

structive, though he seldom took the pains to gratify us hy dbfng- so. 
His political talents are of the first order and his mental resources 
great. He seems to have every confidence in his own power, but 
has not that personal firmness and hardihood of purpose to lead in a 
revolutionary movement. Nor can he be called cowardly^ for he 
has on many occasions resolutely placed himself in situations he 
knew to be dangerous ; yet when the danger arrives he wnfortu- 
nately loses his coolness and preseujce of mind^ and imbibes that 
impetuosity of Spanish nature so fatal to all prudencev He openly 
denounces Santa Anna as a tyrant and usurper, but is the warm 
friend of Anaya, at that time the Substitute President He is a most 
strenuous advocate of the war^ and his plan of conducting it seems 
to show his saga(;ity and his pei.'ect appreciation of the character of 
the Mexican soldiery. He would have the people join the guerril- 
las, abandon the towns and cities^ and carry their property off. to the 
mountains. We heard him assert, with decided emphasis and de- 
cision, that "should Mexico consent to make peace with the Yankees, 
he would fight the inhabitants of the other provinces as soon as a 
foreign foe." Such is his aversion to a treaty that would " tarnish 
their integrity or infringe upon their nationality,, that before he would 
sanction it — even were his own Mechoacan to do it — he woold rath- 
er expatriate himself than yield to it and live in a dJshor>ered coun- 
try." But with all his patriotism, he suffers his personal feelings 
and individual enmities to get the better of him ; and I believe he 
would sooner subject his country to the Turks than have Santa An- 
na get the credit of saving her — ^fbr "his own Mechoacan" did not 
contribute a soldier to the army, nor did the contributions in funds 
by the clergy of Valladolid, at all correspond with the demamds and 
expectations of the government. Wliile other bishoprics w'ere high- 
ly commended for their liberality, his was strongly condemned as 
niggardly in its appropriations, and even threatened with official 
and popular displeasure. 

Creditable as is the intellectual character of Melchor Ocampo to 
himself and state, it would seem that he had made a monopoly, at 
least of geogrETphical knowledge. It is true our opportunities of 
judging of the intelligence and capacities of the people were limit- 
ed ; but ihe interrogatories of Senor Gomez Peyrelades, the editor 
of " El Repubhcano," who, from his position, ought to know some- 
thing of the world beyond the limits of the Chinese shoe, in which 
his faculties seemed to be cooped up, and Avhich may be regarded as 
an index to the acquirements of the educated portion of the popula- 
tion, we could arrive at no very favorable estimaite of their sprightli- 
ness. Among other equally silly questions, he asked us in a most 
grave and apparently candid manner, through his associate, " if all 
the United States embraced as much territory as the province of Me- 
choacan, and if the population exceeded three millions." He re- 
marked that he " had recently had a dispute with the bishop, who 
contended that the United States was larger, both in extent of terri- 



IN MEXICO. 73 

tory and population, than the whole of the republic of Mexico, but 
he had imputed such an extravagant idea to the priest's ignorance." 
The fellow's sympathy for the bishop's ignorance vastly exceeded 
Jus own knowledge ; and when we assured him that our country 
was much more than double as large as all the Mexican provinces, 
that it contained a population of twenty millions, and could at any 
time send out an army of three million men, he began to think we 
Vi^ished to intimidate him by an exagg:erated statement. He was 
eventually induced to '• swallow the truth," however, our assertions 
being supported by the evidence of his partner, Mons. Bufiam, who 
had hoard something of the power and resources of the United 
States, in England, during the war of 1812, and had himself touched 
at New York, at a later period. 

But the most difficult matter of comprehension to the editor was, 
how " whig generals " should be placed at the head of the Ameri- 
can army, while the administration was opposed to the whigs — and 
ivhen Corwin's speech against the war was received through " El 
Monitor." from the city of Mexico, we were asked if Senor Corwm 
would not immediately raise a company of volunteers^ iasue a 'pro- 
nunciamento and attack the president ! The editor was delighted 
with the speech, and republished it, by inserting some two columns 
daily. He esteemed Senor Corwin as far superior to Senor Polk, in 
sagacity and eloquence. But poor fellow, he knows but little of the 
finlightencd state of parties in this country, where officials can abuse 
each other with impunity, and where greater revolutions have been. 
consummated by the pen than were ever accomplished by the sword. 

On the r2th of March intelligence of the battle of Buena Vista 
\vas received at the office of " El Republicano." The official dis- 
patches of Santa Anna, representing the total defeat of the Ameri- 
can forces, were hailed by manifestations of unbounded joy, by the 
people, though the governor did not participate in the demonsti-ations 
of respect paid to Santa Anna, by a few of the more fanatical ad- 
herents of the war party. At night rockets were sent heavenward, 
till the very stars had to "hide their diminished heads," and the bells 
of more than forty churches pealed the notes of the triumph of the 
cross. We began to think that father Miller was not so far wrong 
after all, in his elucidation of Daniel's Vision, fox if a Mexican army 
could defeat Gen. Taylor and his volunteers with half a chance, 
there was evidently something wrong in the elements. For some 
days we were compelled to credit the reports, till the arrival of a 
bundle of New Orleans papers, which they always graciously per- 
mitted us to peruse, brought a reliable statement ; and caused a very 
perceptible elongation in the swarthy visages of the more intelligent 
Mexicans, who found they had shouted long " before they were out 
of the woods," but they suffered the great mass to enjoy the bliss of 
ignorance, and encouraged the conclusion that they were invincible. 

It should not be inferred from this premature manifestation of joy 
at the supposed success of their arms, that the people of the province 



y^ DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

of Mechoacan, are decidedly hostile to the United States. The truth 
is, they know nothing of our people, country, or institutions; and the 
Ignorant dupes of a few blind leaders — the victims of passion avA 
impulse, they prefer to rejoice on any occasion. In the last presi- 
dential canvass their legislature voted unanimously for Herrera, the 
peace candidate. 



CHAPTER XL 

EASTER, ANT> ITS AMUSEMENTS— VISIT TO THE CATHEDRAL-DESCRTPTIOJI 
OF THE EDIFICE-OUR E:\iri.OVMENT— THE SPANISH ALrHABET-ClIANGB 
IN DISCIPLINE-IMPROVEMENT IN DIET-MASTICATING MONICEYS-TKQ 
LADIES-THEIR HOSPITALITV: AND ACCOMPUSHMENAS-LOVE AND ITS 
DOINGS. 

Easter came. Again all the markets, shops, and stores were 
closed. Though the holidays, instead of being a relief to us, were 
oppressive ; and Easter is the greatest of them all. Immediately af- 
ter morning mass, there was a general run, ride, and drive out of the 
city to a neighboring palmetto and cocoa grove, where tents were 
erected, plays established, and joy and pleasure reigned supreme. 
This continued for eight days, and at the end of the amusements, all 
went to the church-yard, where every grave bears its name and par- 
ticular sign. Here wine, pulque, bread, aad steak, and whatever 
else will gratify the stomach, is brought, and they eat and drink over 
the graves — drink complimentary toasts to the dead,. and amuse them- 
selves rurally and morally. In this manner they recompense them- 
selves for the long forty days fast, in which their religion prevents 
them from eating meat, eggs, butter, milk, and cheese, and during 
"which period we lost a good deal more tlesh than Shylock demanded 
of the Merchanl of Venice. 

More out of "familiar impertinence " than any other motive, we 
solicited the privilege of going to church on Easter Sunday. Our 
request was promptly and unexpectedly granted, and we went, more 
to gratify our curiosity than any hope of being seriously benefitted. 
Our masters employing an escort of twelve men, we were for the first 
time, since our confinement, permitted to enter the streets of the city. 
There are over forty churches m Valladolid, but we had signified 
our desire to see the Cathedral. Passing by the church of San 
Francisco, whose tripple portals might be considered fine specimens 
of the florid Gotliic of the fifteenth century, and whose wooden doors 
elaborately and beautifully carved, are certainly well worthy the at- 
tention of the curious ; we hastened on to see the finest buildings in 
the city ; a church that in size, purity of style, and excellent work- 



IN MEXICO. 75 

manship, far surpasses the Cathedral in Cincinnati, and would vie 
with Trinity church, in New York. Indeed it is regarded as among 
the finest Gothic edifices in the world, and certainly its effect is fine 
beyond description. In twenty-five years the building was com- 
menced and completed, and was dedicated at the beginning of the 
nineteenth century. Being built before the revolution, when the 
country enjoyed repose, the same plan was pursued from beginning 
to end, and there was a simplicity attained — a certain kind of judici- 
ous finish and ornament, that gives to this mass of "stone and mor- 
ter " such an air of completeness — of being done — that, as we looked 
upon the work, we involuntarily uttered " Amen." The central 
tower is 250 feet in height, and is composed wholly of open arches 
and tracery, crowned by an octangular band of flower-de-luce. It is 
certainly the most graceful and beautiful tower I ever beheld. But 
the interior is, if possible, more imposing than the exterior. The ex- 
treme length is 440 feet, and the height 100. The finest specimens 
of Spanish oil paintings adorn the walls, while the altar is of beauti- 
ful marble, and the railing, ballustrades, and images are of pure gold. 
I do not know how to describe the elegant, quiet simplicity of the 
interior, that, in spite of my prejudices, charmed me more and more, 
till I forcibly tore myself away from gazing. The light is peculiarly 
strong, owing to the immense size of the clerestory windows, and yet 
the rich coloring of the stained glass softens it down to the most 
agreeable mellowness. 

While we stared at the church, we were stared at in turn by the 
congregation, and fearing the priest would become jealous of the at- 
tention the comparative lightness of our complexions elicited, as soon 
as the last thundering notes of the organ concluded the vespers, we 
returned, passing through the public plaza, and taking a view of the 
Governor's palace. 

We were fast growing in the favor and esteem of our new mas- 
ters. True to the policy we adopted on the first night of our cap- 
tivity, we omitted no opportunity to flatter their vanity, and had not 
only succeeded in inducing the belief that our respect for them was 
unbounded, but that we had become so allied to their customs, as to 
have little desire to return home. These declarations were received 
in better faitii than they were made, so far as the author is concerned, 
yet they were not relied on with the most implicit confidence. The 
trifling annoyances we had at first encountered in becoming familiar 
with the fftse, the alphahetj and the accented letters^ were now avoid- 
ed, and we cottld compose in Spanish with almost as much facility as 
in English type. Indeed, the alphabets of the two languages are al- 
most identical — the former dispensing with our to and adopting three 
double letters — cA, 11, and rr — increasing the number of characters to 
twenty-eight. At our suggestion the cases had been placed upon 
stands, the type completely cleansed, and we had introduced rollers, 
which were as great an innovation upon balls, as our steamboats were 
upon " broadhorns " — we had renovated "El Republicano," so that 



76 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

€ven its most familliar acquaintances could scarcely recognize it. In 
fact we had produced a revolution in the appearance of things gen- 
erally, quite creditable to our ingenuity. And our enterprise redound- 
ed greatly to our advantage. These little acts of kindness, which 
cost nothing, resulted in affecting a complete change in our prison 
discipline. We were fitted out in new linen gear — each adopting the 
French blouse, in imitation of the " better classes." The hours of 
labor were curtailed from twelve to eight per day, and instead of bring- 
ing our tortillas, chili, and bean soup to our prison room, the entrance 
to which was always secured, and feeding us like caged animals, we 
were permitted to take our meals with the families, on the second, 
floor of the commodious building. These were courtesies that our 
most sanguine anticipations had not reached ; and we had been so 
long accustomed to dining like Turks, that we felt really awkward 
and embarrassed in resuming such weapons as a knife and fork at 
the table ! But the excellence of the diet surprised us more than all. 
Aside from the immoderate use of pepper and garlic, which complete- 
ly usurps the original flavor of eveiy dish — it was such as to excite 
the admiration of an epicure. Added to the usual luxuries to be 
found on the tables of hotels in the United States, we here found 
every variety of tropical fruits — oranges, figs, bananas, yams, &c., 
besides monkeys and parrots. At first, we confess we felt some com- 
punctions of conscience in devouring such a delicacy as the carcass 
of a dead monkey — alarmed at such an advance towards cannibal- 
ism. But the force of example soon reconciled our misgivings, and 
the very idea, at first revolting, became a luxury. Monkey stock is 
not to say plenty in the province of Mechoacan ; yet they abound in 
Yucatan, and being taken when very young, they are fattened like 
pigs, and sold in the markets. They are an excellent dish, possess- 
ing a flavor far superior to that of our squirrel, and highly prized by 
the Mexicans. The parrot, when fat, and served in the same man- 
ner, could not be distinguished from the American pheasant. Choc- 
olate is a favorite beverage, and is manufactured, though not to any 
great extent, in Valladolid. 

But the ladies — it would be ungallant to leave them unnoticed. 
In our new relation, we were ushered into the society of no less 
than six — the wife and daughter of Mons. Butfam, and the wife and 
three daughters of Senor Gomez Peyrelades — the latter, all of the 
pure Castilian blood. In age the young ladies varied from 14 up to 
26, only one of Vv/'hom could be called really handsome. But they 
soon became the most familiar and inquisitive creatures I had ever 
met with in any country. I would recommend all timid bachelors 
to go to Mexico, at once. They spoke the Spanish and French lan- 
guages fluently, and had a slight smattering of the English. It 
was not long before they commenced paying us very handsome 
compliments, and apprised us of the important fact that they — hav- 
ing understood we were both entirely white — had been in ecstacies 
€ver since our arrival, to have us introduced into the family, and that 



IN MEXICO. 77 

they had at last succeeded in accotiiplisliing- their wishes. To us 
tiiere was something' rather mysterious connected with all these new 
♦okeus of hospitality, but we " bore our biushing; honors meekly." 
We had fallen upon strange times, and the dark shadows which had 
hung gloomily over our destiny were fast receding before a brighter 
future. 

For who is impervious to the dark eyes and soft smiles of wo- 
man ? Our names and awkward manners afforded them curiosity 
and amusement — for the Spanish ladies are excessively polite, in 
their own way. My name commencing with Don, I was regarded 
as a descendant from the Spanish nobility — but it was difficult for 
me to reconcile such a conclusion under existing circumstances. For 
aside from my humble position as a slave, I was mortified by being 
frequently reminded of the fact that 'I was not so buena as Senor 
Cunningham. This partiality, liowever just, 1 attributed in some 
measure to having imprudently revealed my connubial responsibility 
in the United States. My friend Cunningham had yet no such de- 
sirable encumbrances, though his prospects were becoming flatter- 
ing. The large black eye, the dark expressive glance, the soft 
blood-tingedj olive glowing complexion of Policarpa Peyrelades, 
the belle of ihe establishment, made him unwillingly confess the 
majesty of Spanish beauty. And though he readily acknowledged 
that the soft, blue eyes, and delicate loveliness of his own country- 
women, could awaken more tender feelings of interest, he would de- 
ny or dispute in vain the commanding superiority of this dark eyed 
and finely formed damsel. And she was sensible, too. She had 
even learned what precocious children in our own " best circles" of- 
ten do — that her father was a fool. Without discussing the justness 
of her conclusion, we will present some evidence of her accomplish- 
ments. Cervantes was her Shakspeare, most of whose productions 
she had committed to memory. Besides singing " divinely," and 
playing on the guitar and piano, she w-as a poetess ! Her eflusions 
frequently graced the columns of " El Republicano," and some of 
which, in our uninitiated judgment, possessed decided merit. The 
passion of love inspires a passion for poetry ; and being beyond the 
influence of either, I will be pardoned for introducing a specimen of 
her production. The lines were addressed to my friend Cunning- 
ham, after he had so far advanced as to assure her she was his. 

"FIRST .LOVE. 

[TRANSLATED FROM ' EL REPUBLICANO.'] 

"Guard well within thy memory the love that youth repays, 
Nor seek in winter's snowy breast atiection's flame to raise; 
For the loves which fill the guileless heart, while from suspicion free, 
Are dearer far than after ones, how true soe'er they be. 

** The purchased loves of life's young morn, when every thought glows warm, 
And fills the clouds with sapphire towers and many a fairy form; 
Oh, lose them not by cold neglect, or hope not to regain. 
The plant of love once chilled with frost will never spring again. 



73 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

"The dream of passion's spring-time hour — the full heart's overflow, 
Chilled by the world's cold frosvn are hushed, and quenched their genial gloT, 
And life's dull, dread realities, in all their bitter truth, 
Impart to us the lesson learned — ' We have no second youth.' 

"Go wander through th#tabyrinths of fashion's giddy throng, 
And view gay pleasure's masquerade, or list her syren song; 
Taste every cup of bliss, and roam where fancy's voice may call. 
Yet shall the thought of ' love's young dream ' be dearer than them all. 

"Cherish thy first young love, then, as a principle — a part 
Of that pure bliss which heaven itself enshrines within the heart; 
It is the. clear untainted fount of undefined desire. 
The substance and the essence pure of the Promethean fire." 



CHAPTER XII. 

NEWS OF THE INVESTMENT OF VERA CRUZ-BATTLE OF CERRO GORDO- 
CHARACTER OF CUNNINGHAM-INFLUENCE OF LOVE-UNFAVORABLE 
CHANGE IN TREATMENT-ESCA.PE FROM VALLADOLID-PASSING THE 
GATES-DEPARTURE FOR aUERETARO-TOMATOES-A RANCHO-HOSPI- 
TALITY OF THE WOMEN-BAKING TORTILLAS-ASSUMPTION OF A NEW 
CHARACTER-RIO GRANDE DE SANTIAGO-BANYAN TREES-MOUNTAIN 
SCENERY-AN AMERICAN PHYSICIAN, HIS CHARACTER AND KINDNESS- 
EDUCATION OF LIZARDS-CITY OF QUERETARO-A MEXICAN DILLIGENCE 
-ARRIVAL AT THE CITY OF MEXICO. 

Intelligence communicating the defeat of the Mexican forces at 
Cerro Gordo, following the receipt of the official statement which an- 
nounced the investment of Vera Cruz, by the army under Gen. 
Scott, did not fail to produce sensations of alarm among the ranks 
of the war party at Valladolid, and it was even conceded by the edi- 
tor of "El Republicano " that the capital was speedily destined to 
fall into the hands of the invading army. Although our situation 
had become comparatively agreeable, save the close confinement to 
which we were subjected, we could not anticipate the consequences 
that mio-ht ensue to us, either in the event of a subjugation of the 
country, or a cessation of hostilities. Isolated and remote as we 
were from the capital, our condition could not be made known there. 
During the period of seven months we had been prisoners within 
the power and at the mercy of the enemy, we had never been per- 
mitted to communicate a syllable to our friends. We did not ask to 
transmit our confidential thoughts, but merely to apprise our friends 
of our fate and confinement. This privilege, however, they would 
grant us under no considerations. Nor were we allowed to see or 
communicate with our ovvn countrymen, .several of whom we had 
learned were residing in the city ; but who, had they known and 
been disposed to reveal our situation, would have been detected, as 



IN MEXICO 79 

no communication can leave the city without first having passed 
through the hands of an inspector, clothed with authority to suppress 
whatever his judgment may dictate. 

It is certainly mortifying enough to have one's genius eternally 
cramped within the narrow limits of our best prin.^ng-oflices in the 
United States, but in Mexico he will find its expansions most rigidly 
prescribed. After four months' labor, without any compensation but 
the bare supply of " food and raiment," we had grown not only wea- 
ry of our situation, irksome and monotonous as was the routine of our 
duties, but daily experienced an increasing desire to return to our 
own country. Added to all this, a partiality for my friend Cunning- 
ham, which could not be concealed, had in a measure alienated him 
from me. He was one of those frank, ardent, high-minded compan- 
ions, to whom a soul might be intrusted ; and his ready fund of wit 
and sentiment, as occasion required, had served to beguile many 
a weary hour, in the long night of our mutual perils. From the 
nature of our position, we had formed a kind of alliance, offensive 
and defensive ; and amid the hum of a foreign language, for a time 
incomprehensible, had indulged in the sweet sounds of our mother 
tongue. Fellow-sufferers, engaged in kindred pursuits, linked in the 
same uncertain destinj^, we had shared each other's joys and sorrows, 
and studied each other's domestic habits, somewhat after the amiable 
manner of the Siamese twins. But the man was now '' in love," 
and his character had undergone a total change. Mankind are too 
apt to conclude that others can feel the same interest in their indi- 
vidual affairs, that they do themselves — especially is it so with lovers, 
who suppose the world is as completely convulsed as their own over- 
flowing hearts ; and who, when they fairly surrender, the victims of 
that passion, are about as fit for society as a Mexican is for the en- 
joyment of enlightened liberty. They are " company " for no one 
but themselves, creating as they do, a kind of world within them- 
selves. I could not censure or reprove my friend, for 1 had been a 
victim to the same influence — nor did 1 wonder that the citadel of 
his heart was no more successful in resisting an attack from the for- 
tress of the fair Policarpa, than were her countrymen from the well 
poised charges of the " army of occupation." Yet I was the suffer- 
er. While he was cared for and caressed, I became neglected. 
Mine was a most unenviable lot — shut up in prison, and shut out 
from the last claim I had upon human sympathy — I stood " solitary 
and alone, amid the jeers of an inconstant world." While at night 
I was securely locked in the narrow room in the garret, which we 
had jointly occupied, to sleep upon a rude bed made of strips of cow- 
hide interlaced, he was conducted to better apartments, to sleep with 
I know not whom, for traveling through this world " makes strange 
bed-fellows," and in Mexico I have known "broad hints" to be giv- 
en even by fathers. 

Under such an unfavorable combination of circumstances, it is not 
to be wondered at, that if from no higher motives than to avoid the 



80 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

constant evidence of the inferiority of my position, I should eagerly 
embrace the first opportunity to escape. On the night of the 3d of 
May (1847), from some cause, which will probably never be satisfac- 
torily explained even to myself, I awoke about the hour of midnight 
and found the door of my room unlocked and open. This room, 
which had no window, and but the one door, communicated with the 
printing office, where, after drawing on my new Spanish habili- 
ments, I procured the small cords from several bundles of printing 
paper, and tying them together, carefully secured one end near a 
window in the hall of the office, and taking the other, through that 
aperture, I let myself quietly down into the street. It was the first 
lime I had ever found myself dangling in the air at the end of a rope, 
and I trust may be the last — though I confess it was " pulling hemp " 
to some purpose. It was an undignified, unenviable, and indelicate 
position, and in describing it I must have the license of undignified 
terms. The truth is, what little of dignity I ever possessed was 
pretty well compromised while in a state of menial servitude. 

Free in the city, 1 yet had to pass the gates, which I managed 
without difficulty, through the knowledge I had acquired of the 
Spanish language. During our confinement, I had carelessly made 
enquiry about the roads to the city of Mexico, Queretaro, and various 
other places. Of the gate keeper I enquired the road to the city of 
Mexico, but instead of following it, to avoid pursuit, I took the road 
to Q,ueretaro, and with a peculiar mingling of hope and fear, bid adieu 
to the city of Valladolid. I did not experience the confusion which 
characterizes the conduct of a culprit, for I felt conscious of my 
rights, if ever I should have the good fortune to recover them ; and 
this stratagem may have prevented my being overtaken and re-cap- 
tured. Being an accomplished pedestrian, with an extensive prac- 
tice, I must have traveled some twenty miles before daylight ; when 
leaving the road I secured myself for the day among the chaparel, 
where I had the company of a family of lizards as numerous as the 
John Smith's. Whether pursued or not, I neither learned nor caredj 
after escaping. 

Taking up the line of march, early on the second night I came in 
sight of the town of Charo, which I avoided by a kind of semi-cir- 
cle and zizzag manoBUver through the mountain paths of the Cordil- 
leras. Here I met with the good fortune to encounter a tomato patch, 
a vegetable of spontaneous growth, and on which I gratified my ap- 
petite and subsisted for the first three days. On the morning of the 
third day after my escape, arriving in the delightful valley of the Ri& 
Grande de Santiago, I ventured to make a call at a rancho. Here 1 
found the miserable looking excuses for men stretched out upon their 
floors in a state of profound somnolency. Permitting them to enjoy 
their repose, the ladies most generously and hospitably prepared an 
excellent breakfast, consisting of venison, fregoles, chili, chocolate, 
and tortillas. The latter is a kind of corn cake, which is the only 
bread found among the inhabitants of Mexico, out of the towns and 



IN MEXICO. gj 

cities. The process of making them I had never before witnessed, 
and the Senoritas, akhough they did not know me from Adam^ 
seemed to take great pleasure in initiating me into the mysteries of 
their manufacture. The common Indian corn is, in the first place, 
put into an earthen vessel containing lime-water, where it is soaked 
to remove the husk — it is afterwards crushed between two stones, 
shaped for the purpose, into a thick paste, made into flat cakes and 
baked on a clay griddle. A very liberal sprinkling of pulverized 
chili ( a small red pepper from which cayenne is manufactured), is 
usually introduced to the dough, making it " go off like hot cakes " in 
reality. 

The ladies were as inquisitive as the verriest Yankee from Ver- 
mont, but I had prepared a tale for them. Robberies being of com- 
mon and almost every day occurrence there, I represented myself as 
an English merchant from Guanajuato, returning from Zacatula, on 
the Pacific, and as having been attacked by banditti, who stripped 
me of not only my money, but the mustang on which I had been 
mounted, and came within a " squirrel's jump," of taking mv life in 
the bargain. Englishmen stand high in the estimation of both the 
people and the government, and their sympathies for me were un- 
bounded. T made an apology for being unable to remunerate them, 
w-hen they gave me to understand that it was an insult to Mexi- 
can character to offer such a thing, even were I loaded down with 
jewels. 

Leaving the rancho, as I proceeded down the valley of the Santi- 
ago river, I passed through a large grove of banyan trees. This tree 
has been regarded as one of the Avondcrs of the world, and is cer- 
tainly among nature's most admirable productions. It is a growth 
only of those climes where she has lavished her bounties in the 
greatest profusion and variety. The main trunk throws forth its 
branches in long, hanging, and at first, tender fibres, which on reach- 
ing the earth take root, and become in their turn parent trunks, send- 
ing forth their own branches. A grove thus formed, presents one of 
the most beautiful and luxuriant views that can be imagined. The 
leaves are large, soft, and of a lively green ; the fruit is a small fig, 
when ripe of a bright scarlet, affording sustenance to monkeys, squir- 
rels, peacocks, parrots, and birds of various kinds Avhich dwell among 
their branches, and were indulging in their peculiar antics. 

Upon crossing the Santiago, and entering the province of Gluere- 
taro, I again approached jthe mountains, the defiles of which, at first 
open, soon became so contracted as scarcely to leave a passage, 
while the hills on either side became wilder and more lofty. On 
their surface was a low brushwood of oak and holly, scarcely hiding 
the dark rocks that were piled loosely above one another, and ready 
to crush down at the slightest impulse. Within these narrow ra- 
vines, mountain rivulets were collected in strong currents, which rat- 
fled among masses of huge rock, and often swept, in broad flakes of 
foam, across the narrow road which wound through the valleys. 



82 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

In approaching the city of Glueretaro, through the province of the 
same name, I found the country more thickly populated than and 
other portion of Mexico I had visited. After receiving such tokens 
of regard at the first rancho at which I had stopped, I did not hesitate 
to call at others, and on relating the same plausible story, received 
similar demonstrations of kindness. Within two miles of the city I 
was overtaken by a gentleman on horseback. He was riding the 
noblest looking animal I had seen in the country, and from his com- 
plexion I was at once convinced that he was not a native, although 
he addressed me in Spanish. We had proceeded but a short dis- 
tance, till, arriving at his residence, he invited me in. Fearing to en- 
ter the city of Glueretaro, and hailing this as the only source through 
which to receive the necessary information by which my course 
might be regulated, I availed myself of his politeness. Upon a mu- 
tual interchange of the ordinary inquiries, I found him to be a native 
of Maryland, and a practicing physician, who had ama.ssed immense 
wealth by his profession during his residence in Mexico, where he 
was living in princely style. I had found another bright spot, an 
oasis, in the great desert of my perilous pilgrimage. To him I re- 
vealed my true character, and the history of my adventures. Being 
an American, a man of generous sympathies, and more than ordina- 
ry sagacity, he readily proposed to assist me, without at all compro- 
mising his own safety. After my journey of 1 12 miles, I remained 
with the doctor (Stevenson), during the following day to refresh 
myself When we had dispatched an unpcppered dinner, and were 
enjoying our cigars under a broad spreading tamarind tree, his liz- 
ards came down to repel the attacks of the mosquitos. It is aston- 
ishing what education will accomplish. The doctor's kindness for 
animals has developed instincts and awakened affections that would 
not discredit a race of intellectual beings. When he returns from 
the city, his beautiful fan-tailed pigeons come with their familiar 
greetings to his carriage and perch upon his shoulders, and his liz- 
ards jump from the trees into his hands. He related an incident 
which occurred several years since, while he resided near Vera 
Cruz, showing the remarkable instinct of these reptiles. A huge 
lizard that had the misfortune to lose his tail by some accident, 
marched into his office with the dismembered limb in his mouth, 
and approached him as if seeking relief! This looks like a rather 
remarkable " snake story," but is nevertheless asserted by him as a 
fact, and he regards the circumstance as a tribute to his surgical 
skill. 

The succeeding morning found us driving to the city of Gluere- 
taro. Instructing me to retain the assumed character of an English 
merchant, on our arrival at the city I was introduced as such, though 
my ignorance of "</ie trade, stocks" Sfc, poorly qualified me for sus- 
taining it. I played the somewhat difficult part, however, without 
suspicion, so far as 1 know, and through the influence of Dr. Ste- 
venson, I was tendered a seat in a diligence, which was to leave in a 



IN MEXICO. . 33 

few days for the city of Mexico, in company with a o'cal English 
merchant. This arrangement perfected, after furnishing nie with 
means, and a note of introduction to Mr. Black, the American consul, 
he left me enjoying high hopes and spirits, and a heart overflowing 
with gratitude ; for it was then taken by general consent, that Gen. 
Scott and his army were " reveling in the halls of the Montezumas." 

During the evening we took a stroll through the city, which sur- 
passes in point of beauty, cleanUness, and mdustry, all others in 
Mexico. The buildings are handsome and commodious, and exhibit 
a refinement of taste in their construction seldom met with in that 
country; while the streets are wide, well paved, vvith spacious side- 
walks. Included within its walls are three large public plazas, 
beautifully adorned with shrubbery and a rich variety of flowers. 
The population is supposed to reach 50,000 ; and the magnificence 
of its public buildings almost challenge competition. Among its 
most splendid and extensive public works, is a stone aqueduct, by 
which the city is supplied with water, and which is some tea or 
twelve miles in length. 

On the morning of the 14th we took our seats in a Mexican dili- 
gence, which resembles more than any thing else, a common bed- 
stead inclosed with green painted canvass, on wheels, with four 
mules hitched abreast ; and passing through the unimportant towns 
of San Juan, Huitoke, Tula, and Guatitlan, arrived safely in the 
city of Mexico on the 16th of May. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

CITY OF MEXICO-PUBLIC GROUNDS-PUBLIC BUILDINGS-THE MINT-COIN- 
ING GOLD-HOTELS-THEATERS-NEWSPAPER PRESS OF THE CITY-LIT- 
ERATURE-SOCIETY-MANNERS AND CUSTOMS-DRESS— SUBURBS-CEME- 
TERY-POPULATION, &c. 

I WAS disappointed in my ideal picture of the city of Mexico. 
Like many others, I had imagined it to be a counterpart of the great 
Venice across the waters, only with the additional attractions of 
floating paradises, in the shape of flower gardens, instead of gondo- 
las, upon the bosom of its watery streets. But the city has been 
cruelly modernized in this particular, and there is little of that ro- 
mance we read of, justly belonging to it now. It occupies only a 
part of the seat of the ancient Tenochtitlan — the city of the Mon- 
tezumas — and instead of being built on a cluster of islands, is at 
least two miles east of the lake of Tezcuco. The valley or table 
land on which it is located, is 7,400 feet above the level of the sea, 
and about one hundred and fifty miles in circumference. This valley 



84 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

is surrounded by mountains, ranging in height from three to nine 
thousand feet. In geniality of climate, and fertility of soil, it is almost 
unequaled in the wide world. It is covered with the most luxuriant 
herbage, and timber of almost every size and species. The cy- 
press here reaches enormous dimensions, sometimes measuring twen- 
ty feet in diameter. The city has been represented as bemg the 
finest on the American continent, and in many respects certainly is 
so. It occupies a vast area — the walls by which it is surrounded 
enclosing a square about five miles in extent either way. I have 
seen as handsome buildings, and as beautiful trees, but, altogether, 
the gently undulating, yet nearly level plain, the uniformity in the 
height of the buildings, the long straight streets, crossing at right 
angles ; and above all, the magnificent public grounds, artificial 
lakes and canals, I must say that, in these respects, it presents at- 
tractions far beyond any of the cities of the United States. The ar- 
chitecture is of the most fascinating style. The buildings generally 
are constructed of porphyritic and basaltic stone, from the neigh- 
boring mountains, tastefully hewn, and are three stories in height^ 
with flat roofs and terraces. Some of the fronts are of porcelain, 
laid off in large squares, in which are painted pictures representing 
"Christ crucified," "the ascension," the " Virgin of Gaudaloupe," 
&c. But as a general thing, the fronts are of smooth stone painted 
either crimson or light green. The gates, ballustrades, and railing 
are of iron beautifully bronzed — while the fronts are adorned with 
corridors and balconies — constructed of the same material, and richly 
ornamented with fruit and flower trees. The floors of the houses 
are universally of tile or brick. The principal streets are from two 
to three miles in length, somewhat roughly paved. They are not 
constructed on the same plan of ours, with side walks and gutters, 
but gradually descend from each side to the center, where there is a 
drain, covered by broad flag stones, which may be removed at pleas- 
ure. These gutters are drained by a large sewer, some twelve miles 
in length, cut through the mountains, and emptying into the river 
Tula; which also serves to carry ofl'the water when the lakes over- 
flow during the rainy season, and prevents inundation — ^the surface 
of the water in the lakes being higher than the streets of the city. 
This outlet also aflbrds a waste-way for the canal from the lake of 
Chalco, which supplies the city with water. After the European 
style, each street presents its particular class of shops — the jewelers 
are confined to one street, the dry-goods men to another, grocers to 
still another, &c., while fruits and flowers of every variety and hue 
are to be found in all. 

But the public grounds of the city constitute its great attraction. 
They will compare with those of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, 
and New Orleans, just about as the " Eighth street space " in the 
Queen city will compare to the " New York Battery." The chief 
plaza in the center of the city, is one of the finest business squares 
to be seen in any city in the world. It contains some twelve or fif- 



INMEXICO. gg 

teen acres, and is beautifully paved with large hewn stone. It is 
surrounded by public buildings — the cathedral occupying the east 
side, built upon the spot where stood the ancient temple of the sun. 
On the west is the bazaar, and a long row of public offices, adorned 
with piazzas which project over the side- walk — thf; national palace 
on the north, formerly occupied by the viceroys of Spain, but more 
recently by the presidents; and on the south the public market and 
museum. But the rural retreats within the city furnish a far great- 
er source of admiration. Groves are liberally interspersed, at ap- 
propriate distances, containing from fifteen to seventy-five acres, 
planted with everjr variety of trees, shrubbery, and flowers, and in 
some of which artificial lakes are to be seen, abounding in gold fish, 
that wildly sport in their pure, native element. Among these en- 
closures, the Alamenda, near the western limits of the city, is the 
most conspicuous, and whose graveled walks, odoriferous flowers, 
and marble fountains, dispel all thoughts of the indolent, and half- 
civilized occupants without. It is a kind of Eden scene ; and while 
I gazed upon it I did not wonder that poor, persecuted Eve should 
have been tempted, for where every thing was clad in the rich pro- 
fusion of beauty, who could think of sin and misery ! Besides these, 
there are numerous private gardens, of magnificent beauty, hand- 
somely laid out, with their flagged walks, bordered with hundreds 
of luxuriant pots of flowers whose bloom never dies. 

The public buildings are very numerous, and more than two hun- 
dred spires proudly peer above the city. Perhaps the most striking 
of all the characteristics of their architecture, are the pyramidal 
masses of masonry, far exceeding in height every other part of the 
edifice, between which the portals, not only those that form the main 
entrance, but the passages between its courts, are placed, in these 
apparently useless masses the architect seems to have sought to imi- 
tate the hewn face of the lofty rocks in which the entrance of the 
excavations are usually formed. Especially is this the case in regard 
to the building called the President's Palace, but which resembles 
more a penitentiary than the abode of a sovereign. It has but three 
doors opening on the first floor — its windows are small and barba- 
rously arranged — and altogether, it is the most tasteless and ill- 
shaped building in the city. The halls of the Senate and House of 
Deputies are also on the second floor of this uncomely edifice, be- 
sides the offices of the ministers of finance, foreign relations, heads 
of departments, &c. It may be, however, that the cathedral, so far 
eclipsing this building in point of beauty and splendor, causes one to 
view it with severer criticism than he otherwise would. From the 
descriptions I had read of this cathedral, and from the magnificence 
of similar buildings in the inferior cities of Mexico, which I had 
seen, 1 was induced to form opinions of its splendor on too extensive 
a scale to be realized. In proportions only, it excels the cathedral at 
Valladolid — in beauty of architecture and grace, it cannot compare 
with the latter. It occupies an area of five hundred feet in depth, by 



86 



DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 



four hundred and fifty in width, with a tower that commands a view 
of the entire city, and its suburbs for miles in circumference, includ- 
ino- the lakes of Tezcuco, Zumpango, San Christoval, and Chalco. 
The walls are of immense thickness, and constructed of solid stone, 
while the deep, tall windows, with their finely painted glass, impart 
to it rather an inviting appearance. Yet one's admiration scarcely 
commences till he has entered within the walls. Here it is that he 
is awed by the enormous wealth and splendor of the interior. In 
richness of decorations, it must surpass any similar edifice on the 
continent — at least any that I have visited. The main altar, near 
the center, is of polished marble, ornamented with solid gold and 
silver, surmounted by numerous images manufactured of the same 
material, and which, notwithstanding the costliness of their compo- 
sition, have to perform the menial service of candle-sticks. Exten- 
sive lines of ballustrades also surround the choir, and images of gol- 
den saints and angels are stuck against the walls with a prodigality 
that would induce the beholder to believe the wealth of empires had 
here been lavished to gratify the gods. Three costly images of full 
grown, and handsome virgins, clad in petticoats and short aprons, 
strung with emeralds, pearls, and diamonds, occupy conspicuous po- 
sitions, where they receive the addresses and adorations of the high 
and the low, the rich and the poor, notwithstanding their countless 
wealth and aristocratic attire — religion making no distinctions, they 
are to be approached by all. 

Among the other public buildings are the Hospital, the Francis- 
can Convent, the Public Library, and the Mint. The latter is the 
most extensive establishment of the kind in the world. It employs 
3000 hands, and has coined $100,000 in a single day. There are 
to be found among its superintendents several Yankees, from one of 
whom I learned the interesting process of coining gold. Most of the 
gold found in Mexico is brought to this mint to be coined, as silver 
only is coined at the mines of Valenciana (near Guanajuato), and Za- 
catecas. The gold dust is usually melted into bullion before it is 
brought to the mint, to find the value each parcel has to be assayed. 
The assaying is the most curious and scientific business connected 
with the mint. The gold dust being cast into bars, the bars are 
weighed accurately, and a piece cut off for the assayer, who melts it 
with double its weight in silver, and three times its weight in lead. 
It is melted in small cups made of bone ashes, which absorb all the 
lead, while a large portion of silver is extracted by another process, 
and the sample is then rolled out to a thin shaving, placed in a small 
vial, called a mattrass, containing nitric acid. The mattrasses are 
then placed on a furnace, boiled for some time, when the liquid is re- 
newed, and the process repeated, till the acid has extracted all the sil- 
ver and other mineral substance, leaving the sample pure gold. By 
the difference in the weight before, and after assaying, the value is 
estimated. After this the bars are melted, refined, and being mixed 
with a due proportion of alloy (equal portions of silver and copper). 



jy MEXICO. g7 

they are drawn into long strips, cut into round pieces with a sort of 
punch, and milled, or the edge slightly raised, when they are placed 
in a stamping press and come forth perfect coins. The mint in the 
city, as well as other similar establishments, belongs to the govern- 
ment, to which, altogether, they are a great source of revenue. 

The hotels in the city are numerous, and some of them very ex- 
tensive and well regulated. I have seldom partaken of more elegant 
or sumptuous entertainments than at the public house at which I 
there stopped. The table was loaded with a profusion of meats, 
fruits, confectionaries, and wines. The services of china were rich 
and beautiful, and the courses followed each other in succession, per- 
haps to the amount of ten or fifteen in number. Such of the private 
dwelling houses as I entered, which were few, although of splendid 
exterior and spacious apartments, did not seeni to be as well furnish- 
ed as those of the United States usually are in our cities. 

There are three theaters in the city, all of which are nightly 
thronged. The " Principal," which is visited by the military officers 
and aristocracy generally, is an edifice of some credit to the drama, 
but the other two, the "Puonte duebrada" and " Nuevo Mexico," are 
any thing else. I did not visit either, but was informed that the rep- 
resentations were, if any thing, in a more deplorable state than the 
buildings. They constitute, however, the chief source of amuse- 
ment for most classes, as bull fights in the city have been almost en- 
tirely abandoned. 

The newspaper press of the city might be considered respectable, 
especially as compared with that of other portions of the republic. 
In mechanical execution, some three or four of their journals may 
be regarded as approaching neatness and taste. There were seven 
daily papers published in IVIay, and a new one, the "El Sol Central," 
has been since established. Their newspapers, however, do not con- 
tain the same variety, nor are they conducted with the ability of ours. 
Among the first acts of Santa Anna, when he resumed the power of 
the government, was to annul the law restricting the liberty of the 
press ; and although nominally free, it was yet held in check by Go- 
mez Farias and Anaya. 

El Republiccmo, is the oldest and perhaps the most influential of 
the newspapers, though none of them exercise any thing like the in- 
fluence over society they do in the United States. Its politics are not 
very remarkable for consistency, yet it has sustained the war party 
from the commencement with energy and ability. It is supported 
chiefly by the high functionaries and large proprietors, and its prin- 
cipal aim seems to be to uphold the existing state of things. It is 
the champion of the present — cares little for the past, and less for the 
future. Instead of rushing into plans of reform, and theories of so- 
cial melioration, it follows closely the progress of events, and shapes 
its course accordingly. The subscription price of El Republicano 
is $15 a year. 

Le Courier Francais, printed in the French language, is perhaps 



gg DOK?fArAN'S ADVEiVTURES 

the best newspaper in the city. The editor does not indulge much in 
the pohtical controversies and official squabbles which eternally ag- 
itate the population, but devotes his sheet almost exclusively to news 
and literature, and has the reputation of giving the " earliest intelli- 
gence." 

El Monitor is conducted with more ability and indeprndonce than 
any of its cotemporaries. The editor is always ready m discuss any 
subject, and he writes with a degree of freedom and ease, peculiar to 
himself — yet he is full of malice and deception, and plays with his 
phrases as a juggler does with his balls. He denounces Santa An- 
na in the most violent and bitter terms. 

Buletin de la Democracia,^ a new paper by Sonor Jim.eney, and the 
especial organ of Gomez Farias, is ably conducted, and has acquired 
some character both for wit and keen sarcasm, by its frequent collisions 
with the organ of the peace party. 

El RazonadoTj the peace paper, presents not only profound and 
unanswerable arguments, but at times infuses in its politics a degree 
of railery and cutting criticism, decidedly amusing. It opposes, and 
sometimes ridicules, every project or idea advanced by the ministry 
or provisional government, being careful at all times not to assume a 
factious attitude, or render itself liable to the restrictions hanging 
over it. 

There are other papers, the Diario Gibierno, the Irh Ispanol, &lc., 
but their characters are of little interest or importance. The sen- 
tences of the editor of the former seem to run out from his pen like 
thread unwinding from a spool — with about as much care^ and per- 
haps as little effect on the public. 

Their literature, like the poor and unpitied lazaroni who swarm 
the streets in countless hordes, is in a state of beggary. The inesti- 
mable advantages of education have been extended to an inconsider- 
able portion of the population. The great mass have been doomed 
to grope through life in the cinemerian darkness of absolute igno- 
rance. F&w books are printed — still less are read — as the tendency 
of society is more to sensual than intellectual enjoyment. 

A transient visiter to this great metropolis is certain to form an 
exaggerated opinion of its morals, or rather its immorality. ""J^he de- 
plorable ignorance of the population — the loose opinions that prevail 
— the infidelity which totally disregards all obligations of the mar- 
riage vow, naturally shock the feelings of those reared under happi- 
er influences. There seem to be no kindly and elevated affections 
to preserve the young from the contaminations of the world into 
which they are precipitately launched, without a home. There is no 
sanctuary for virtue like a home — and even in our own land of hap- 
py hearths, how many would be lost in the hour of trial, but for the 
thoughts of wounding and disgracing those they have there learned 
to love. Most of the Mexicans, in our sense of the word, have no 
home. They lodge in hired apartments, and spend their days at the 
cafes, billiard rooms, lotteries, and places of public amusement, yet 



fS MEXICO. 



89 



the criminal calendar is not so dark as one would be induced to an- 
ticipate from their habits of ig-nornuce and indolence. They are 
much addicted to gambling and its kindred vices. We are apt to im- 
agine that they have no affinity to us — that they are a totally distinct 
and isolated race. Such a conclusion is erroneous. Man, from his 
earliest authentic history, and perhaps long before, of whatever grade, 
cHme, or color, has been the instrument of passion. His chief pur- 
suit is the greatest amount of happiness, employing every energy 
and straining every nerve to reach the source of the fountain from 
whence ho is to be blissfully wafted down the stream of time, or like 
the drunkard with his bed, taking a longitudinal position, and quiet- 
ly awaiting the revolution of events, which is to bring him ease, and 
luxury, and repose, as the case may be. Flowever we may differ 
in habits, and the minor relations which serve as teguments to bind 
up the social compact — the object, aim, and end are the same. The 
Mexicans eat, sleep, and talk, much as we do, yet their routine of du- 
ties and pleasures is quite dissimilar. Indeed, they seem to have no 
duip but that of pleasure, and while the poorer classes seek it in 
those hells which abound to a greater or less extent in every city, the 
streets and roads in the vicinity, at all times, are thronged with the 
splendid carriages of the wealthy. 

Among the most pleasant drives in the vicinity, are those to the 
village of Tacubayo, the country seat of the Presidents, four miles 
distant, and the Catholic burying ground, two miles beyond the city 
gates. T visited the latter, according to my universal practice in en- 
tering a strange place, as 1 consider it a matter of some importance 
to ascertain the extent to which grave yards are patronised. I found 
it to be a most lovely rural spot, though not to be compared to Mount 
Auburn, or Greenwood. Yet there is something so striking and pe- 
culiar in the construction of a large number of Catholic tombs as at 
once to challenge our admiration. Instead of monuments or stones, 
there is erected over each vault, a little chapel, some three or four 
feet wide, six or eight in length, and five in height, surmounted by a 
cross. A neatly graied door in front, and a little stained-glass win- 
dow in the rear, enables one to see the inscriptions, busts, wreaths 
of llowers, and other objects within, which usually consist of a chair, 
a prayer-book, a crucifix, or small image of the Virgin, wax candles, 
and other conveniences for their forms of devotion and intercession 
for the. departed. Emerging suddenly from the noise and busUe of 
the city of the living, and catching a first view of these little funeral 
temples, thickly strewed and dotted over the level plain, the thought 
irresistibly forces itself upon one, that he is traversing the city of the 
dead. Here are epitaphs in almost every language ; and, here, side 
by side, friends and foes, and the natives of far distant climes, quietly 
repose in their last long sleep together. 

As a people, the citizens seem more to be actuated by impulse than 
judgm.ent. There are few conventional forms and enlightened re- 
iitrictions observed in society ; so, that, whatever is said or done, 



90 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

comes from the heart. In their habits and manners, the French 
forms prevail over all others ; but there is a degree of unaffected po- 
liteness peculiarly their own. The ladies are seen only in the streets 
in the evening, or on holidays, in carriages. Black is the universal 
color of the dress worn by the Spanish and Mexican lady, and while 
among the higher classes it is remarkably elegant, generally adorns 
a very perfect shape, without any of that assistance which nature so 
often receives in our own country. The robe is usually of black 
velvet, tastefully worked and vandyked. The mantilla, or rchoso, is 
here seen in its highest slate of perfection. It is a kind of veil, of 
black silk or lace, thrown over the head, and leaving the face un- 
covered, falls gracefully over the neck and shoulders, and is confined 
at the waist by the arms of the wearer. Thus clad and standing in 
her neat, close-fitting, satin slippers, with her face at times half-con- 
cealed by a gaudily pictured paper fan, the scientific gyrations of 
which convey a language more eloquent than words, the Mexican 
lady may be seen at almost any hour of the day among the bright 
flowers of her balcony, often enjoying the luxury of her Sigaretlo. 
Every body smokes in the city — man, woman, girl, and boy, almost 
down to the baby just escaped from the cradle. — The men belonging 
to the higher classes dress in long fSpanish cloaks, laced and tasselled, 
a low crown, broad brimmed white hat when in the streets; but the 
greater portion of the males I saw were military ofhcers; who at that 
lime almost overrun the city, and who were even proof against the 
appeals made by "El Republicano" to the government, suggesting 
the propriety of starting them out to fight the Yankees. 

Upon the whole the city of Mexico, with a population of at least 
200,000, presents a motley grouping, with no distinguishing national 
characteristic, save, perhaps, its 10,000 filthy-looking water carriers, 
who supply the city with water from the canal ; and its 30,000 Icpe- 
ros, with that awkward display of pride in rags, which prompts them 
to resist labor as an indignity, while they regard alms-taking, or light- 
fingering, as praiseworthy accomplishments. 



IN MEXICO. 91 



CHAPTER XIV. 

MAJOR BORLAND-PUBLIC SENTBIENT IX THE CITY-DEPARTURE FOR PU- 
EBLA-PASS AT RIO FRIO-TEMPLE OF THE SUN-CITY OF PUEBLA— 
MANUFACTORIES-PUBLIC BUILDINGS-CATHEDRAL-INVESTMENT OF THE 
CITY-GEN. VVURTII-DISAFFECTION AMONG THE SOLDIERS-ASSASSINA- 
TIONS—MURDER OF AN AMERICAN OFFICER IN A CONVENT-PEROTE— 
ARMY UNDER GEN. SCOTT-JALAPA-BATTLE-GROUND OF CERRO GORDO 
"NATIONAL ROAD AND BRIDGE-COL. SOVVERS-VERA CRUZ-CASTLE OF 
SAN JUAN-PASSA(,iE ACROSS THE GULF-ISLAND OF LOBOS-ARRIVAL IN 
THE UNITED STATES-BARRY AND CUNNINGHAM. 

During my brief sojourn in the city of Mexico, I had the pleasure 
of meeting with Major Borland, one of the Encarnation prisoners, 
who was captured with Cassius M. Clay, Major Gaines, and otliers, 
and who was then on parole, entided to the privileges of the city. 
His was the first iluniliar face I had encountered for more than seven 
months, although I had received repeated manifestations of kindness 
among strangers, upon whose generosity I had no claim. With 
Major Borland I had become acquainted in 1839, and was employed 
at that time in his office, when he presided over the editorial columns 
of the "Western World" newspaper, at Memphis, Tenn. To him 
I am indebted for numerous courtesies, and I doubt not that it was 
through his kind solicitude in my behalf, that a safe conveyance was 
jirovided for me to Vera Cruz. Through American citizens and our 
Consul, he had acquired much information in regard to the condition 
of parties, and the agitated state of feeling then convulsing the politi- 
cal circles in the capital. 

On the day previous to my arrival, the legislature had cast the vote 
of the province for Angel Trias (former Governor of Chihuahua) for 
President. Santa Anna had arrived from Puebla, and been driven 
from the city by the mob. The news of Gen. Worth's occupation 
of Puebla, of which he had taken possession two days before, had 
just been received, and the advance of the army under Gen. Scott, 
upon the city, was confidently anticipated ; though no measure of 
public defense had yet been considered, and it was asserted that there 
were only five pieces of artillery there at the command of tiie au- 
tliorities. The peace party, and I believe a majority of the better 
citizens, were looking forward to the occupation of the city by the 
American forces, as their only hope of security against the thieving 
propensities of the Mexican soldiery, who infested it, without paying 
that strict regard. to the rights of property so desirable to the owners. 

A number of American citizens, who had been engaged in different 
business pursuits, together with the American Consul, were preparing 
to leave ; and availing myself of the protection afforded by the Mexi- 
can authorities to this company, as well as the kind attentions of Mr. 



92 DONNAVAN'S AD VENTURES 

Black, I left with them on the morning of the 18th May for Puebla, 
seventy-six miles east of the capital, on the National Road. 

After passing the gates of the city, the road for several miles is 
thrown up over the bed originally occupied by the water of the Lake 
of Tezcuco, and which is now only a ilat marsh. For a number of 
years the waters of the lake have been gradually receding, and only 
in the rainy seasons is this marsh inundated. The lake itself is ill- 
shaped and shallow, containing many islands, and covered with myri- 
ads of wild ducks and other water-fowl ; the delightful illusion of 
Chinani'pas, or floating gardens, having totally vanished. 

The road is a broad, smooth, unobstructed tluiroughfare, passing 
between parallel canals and beautiful rows of luxuriant lombardy 
poplars. It was not till we had reached the deep ravine of the Cor- 
dova Mountain that we passed beyond a view of the towering peaks 
of Popocatapetl, and Iztaccihuatl, on the south of the city, whose 
coUossal summits are elevated 17,000 feet above the level of the sea, 
and are covered with perpetual snow. 

At a distance of thirty-six miles from the capital we arrived at the 
small walled garrison of Cordova, after traversing the celebrated pass 
of Rio Frio. This pass is perhaps a mile and a half in length, being 
a steep rugged descent through the mountain of Cordova to the gar- 
rison, and at the foot of which winds the small stream of Rio Frio, 
or Cold River. The place is inhabited by a suspicious looking race 
of beings, whose only occupation is to plunder and assassinate. It 
is situated about mid-way between the cities of Puebla and Mexico, 
and is generally made a point or stopping place for the night ; but 
our organs of caution and love of order, prompted us to seek a 
shelter at a rancho, some five miles this side. 

On the following day we passed through the ancient city of Cho- 
lula, whose ruins have so long been an object of interest to antiqua- 
rians. This city, before the conquest, is said to have contained a 
population nearly equal to that of Mexico, but is now reduced to 
some 5,000. Here may be seen the remains of the temple of the 
sun, so sacred to the early inhabitants. It is a huge pyramid 1400 
feet square, and 200 feet in height. Its base would, perhaps, cover 
Washington square in New York, while its summit would rise above 
the pinnacles of the University. It is surrounded by many smaller 
pyramids, which are said to have been devoted to the worship of the 
stars. 

On the evening of the second day after our departure, we arrived 
safely in the city of Puebla, decidedly the most American looking 
town in all Mexico. It contains a population of 80,000, with broad 
elegantly paved streets, and handsome stone buildings. The streets. 
are much more cleanly than those of the city of Mexico, and are 
built up more densely, presenting none of the ragged suburbs which 
so detract from the beauty of many of the cities in that country. 
Thf^re is also a greater degree of industry among the inhabitants, 
who wear better clothes, and a more civilized appearance than most 



IN MEXICO. 



93 



of their neighbors, although entitled to less confidence. It is the 
only city in Mexico where cotton fabrics are manufactured to any 
extent ; being located on a branch of the Nasca river, affording abun- 
dant water privileges. The number of churches and convents is 
almost innumerable, and the priests constitute about half the popula- 
tion, all of whom are unscrupulous in their denunciations of Santa 
Anna, for having taken the liberty to appropriate to his own use a 
large portion of their golden church ornaments, on his precipitous 
retreat from the city. Puebla is the capital of the province of the 
same name, and is a purely Spanish town, having been built since 
the conquest. Among its most conspicuous public buildings, are 
the Governor's palace, and the great Cathedral, the latter of which 
is represented to be the richest in the world. Whether this be true 
or not, it would be a task to undertake to compute the wealth trea- 
sured up within its walls. The building, like all the churches there, 
is of the Gothic style. In looking at these splendid edifices, what 
most astonishes an American is the beautiful and substantial masonry 
by which the parts are firmly knit together. Tlie material used in 
the construction of this cathedral is different from that of any other — 
being a species of pale blue stone, hewn in heavy blocks, supported 
by huge pillars, which terminate in towers filled with bells. These 
towers are differently shaped, uniformity seeming to be by no means 
essential to good looks. But on entering, one is apt to be inspired 
with feelings of awe at seeing so much splendor, and so many things, 
the purposes of which he is unable to divine, and which can be re- 
garded only as the relics of a by-gone age — the images of virgins, 
dressed in rich embroidered satin, with strings of pearls and diamonds 
dangling down about their knees, and crowns of gold, inlaid with 
emeralds, ai-ound their brows. But the eye is only arrested by their 
brilliancy, and confused by the multiplicity of these figures ; and we 
are led to contrast the strange encounter of splendor and misery by 
which we are surrounded — the massive marble altars, surmounted by 
gold and silver candelebras, occupied by the numerous priesthood, and 
the niches filled with statues of golden saints, while the people stand, 
kneel, or use hired chairs from persons in attendance, and look as if 
even their hopes of heaven were not their own. In the interior of 
this immense edifice is another species of ornament which commands 
attention, it is the profusion of carving in wood, which is to be seen 
about tlie choir in the greatest perfection. A large figure of St. Peter 
is represented in this style most admirably. Depending from the 
center of the great dome is the gigantic chandelier of solid gold and 
silver, exceeding ten tons in weight, and for merely cleaning which 
the " lamp-lighter " charges the round sura of $ 4,000. A strange 
tradition, representing the angels to have assisted in the erection of 
this building, at night, imparts to it a degree of veneration, to which, 
perhaps, no other in the world has ever set up a claim, and which 
has given to the city the name of ^'■Puebla de los Angelas." 

On the 14th of May, six days previous to our arrival, Gen, Worth 



94 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTUREa 

with about GOOO men, had taken possession of the city without firing 
a gun, though there had been repeated assassinations by the Mexi- 
cans after the army had taken up its quarters within the walls , and 
great dissatisfaction prevailed among the Americans on account of 
the lenity which was extended to the perpetrators. In point of per- 
sonal appearance and niilitary capacity, Gen Worth is esteemed 
among the first officers of our army. He is indeed a noble looking 
specimen of tlie Anglo-Saxon, but he failed to reconcile his men to a 
policv subjecting them to severe punishment for oflenses which, com- 
mitted by their enemies, would be " winked at." There were open 
and repeated murmurings among our soldiery, who were compelled 
to lie in the open air at niglit, without tents, while they might, by the 
right of conquest, have occupied at least tlie public buildings of the 
city. Besides, some of tliern were stabbed or poisoned almost daily, 
witli impunity ; and it became a by-word in tlie army, that a Mexi- 
can was rewarded for what an American would be punished. 

The character of the population of Puebla is notorious for cun- 
ning, and they are regarded as the most expert robbers and assassins 
throughout Mexico, where there is no lack of such. On the night 
succeeding our arrival there, a deed of horror was perpetrated, fully 
corroborating the character they sustain, and which would be regard- 
ed as a daring attempt, even among the accomplished murderers of 
Paris. 

On the evening of May 19th, two American officers belonging to 
some of the volunteer corps, attended the Cathedral, where certain 
services were held appertaining to the nuns at the convent of San 
Francis, situated in the western part of the city. The Cathedral 
was filled, as usual, with a large crowd of the faithful, and at the con- 
clusion of the ceremonies, when ihey were dispersing, the two offi- 
cers lingered in the church, gazing at the expensive ornaments. As 
they were also in the act of retiring, a nun, who remained behind 
the rest of the sisterhood, made a sign to the officer who was slowly 
following his comrade, that she desired to speak to him. Returning 
to the nun, a dialogue ensued, in substance, as follows : 

" You are an American? " 

"I am, madam, and but recently from that land of Yankees." 

" 1 presume, sir, you arc a man of honor and discretion ? " 

"Those (pialities, added to courage, make up the composition of 
an American soldier." 

" Are you willing to render me an important service?" 

" You have but to command me." 

"I will not conceal from you that the service I ask at your hands, 
requires not only discretion, but extraordinary intrepidity. Knowing 
this, are you still willing to assist me? " 

" Yes," I am determined." 

" Very well, when you hear the convent bell strike twelve to-night, 
be at the side gate ; I shall he there to open it, and on your knocking 



IN MEXICO. 95 

three times, you shall learn what it is I require of you. Will you 
be faithful to the rendezvous? " 

" I shall be faithful if I live." 

•' Well. I will depend upon you, adieu." 

They parted, and the officer rejoining his companion, as they pur- 
sued their way to the American quarters, related to him all that had 
transpired, and asked him if he should fulfill the appointment. The 
other advised him to do so, by all means, and for fear of accidents, 
offered to accompany him to the gate at the appointed hour. Suppos- 
ing the affair was to end in one of those innocent adventures so com- 
mon in Mexico, and taking it for granted that the lady had been sud- 
denly struck with his personal appearance, the officer with his com- 
panion repaired to the gate according to agreement, and upon giving 
the concerted signal, the entrance was opened by the nun. The 
chosen officer entered, without the least apprehension of fear, and 
was saluted by the nun : 

" You are truly a man of courage and honor, and are entitled to 
my warmest gratitude." 

After conducting him to her cell, where a lamp was burning, she 
politely invited him to sit down, and producing two bottles, request- 
ed him to take a glass of wine with her — a request which a man and 
a soldier is not apt to treat with indifference. Filling him a glass 
out of one bottle, she took a little herself out of the other, and after 
he had finished his, she told him to go to the opposite side of the 
bed from herself The ofiicer, still innocent, obeyed, when the nun 
addressed him : 

"Well, we are all alone — is my door bolted — look ! " 

And at the same instant, to his utter horror and amazement, she 
discovered to him the dead body of a monk, whose clothes were stiff 
and matted with blood ; while she continued : 

" The favor I require, is, that you take this body on your shoulders 
and convey it beyond the gates of the convent. I will light you to 
the gate of the first court. Obey, instantly, or your life shall be in 
peril, for if you attempt to escape I will shoot you through the head." 

And suiting the action to the word, she drew a pistol from her bo- 
som and presented it at him. 

" I know," added she, " that my own life will be the forfeit, for af- 
ter dispatching you, I have a poniard for myself — the same with 
which I stabbed that miserable monk ! " 

Seeing no other means of escape, the officer took up the body, and 
accompanied by the nun, who carried a dark lantern, proceeded to 
the gate by which he had entered, and on issuing from it, threw down 
his horrible burden at the feet of his comrade, who was waiting to 
enjoy a laugh, at what they had both imagined would terminate in a 
pious love intrigue. 

After recounting to his friend the almost incredible adventure in 
which he had been engaged, they both resolved to communicate the 
circumstances to Gen. Worth in person; but they had proceeded 



96 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

only a short distance from the convent, when the officer who had 
brought out the body, began to complain of the most violent and ex- 
cruciating pains. He soon fell upon the pavement and expired. 
The events were related by his comrade, and the circumstances sub- 
mitted to the clergy, but the demon who perpetrated the double mur- 
der, instead of being arrested and punished, was suffered to escape, 
through the protection afforded by the priests. And while such of- 
fenses were suffered to go " unwhipt of justice," American soldiers 
have not only been reprimanded for refusing to " touch their beavers" 
to the priests, but for the commission of comparatively trivial crimes, 
have had one side of their heads shaved, and paraded through the 
streets of Puebla, to gratify the scoffs and scorns of a miserable Mex- 
ican throng. It may be humiliating to them to reveal the truth, but 
enduring the punishment is far more so — and many of them have 
sadly realized that the discipline of our army is not adapted to vol- 
unteers, who leave their own homes and shores to fight the battles of 
their country. 

In company v/ith a train under Capt. Varney, I left Puebla on 
the 23d of May, for Vera Cruz. At Perote we met the army under 
Gen. Scott, to wliom I communicated briefly my own adventures, and 
gave him a statement in regard to Mr. Cunningham, whom I had 
left confined at Valladolid. 

The town of Perote is a small place, some distance from the cas- 
tle of the same name. The sight of this castle brought forcibly to 
mind the sufferings endured for years by many of our countrymen, 
who, like myself, had been within the power of a cruel and unfeel- 
ing people, and was therefore an object of interest and curiosity. I 
had always been accustomed to associate with my ideas of this place 
a towering castle on a high hill, but was quite disappointed. It is 
situated upon a broad, sandy plain, several miles in extent, covered 
with verdure, and beautifully cultivated. The castle is of stone, 
strongly built, and commanding the country for miles around. The 
main^'entrance is through a high wall, which is succeeded by a deep 
ditch, then another wall, then the castle, mounting a large number 
of guns of every size. The enclosure is over an acre in extent, and 
surrounded by two story buildings, the upper rooms of which had 
been occupied by officers of the Mexican army, and the lower ones 
used as barracks. In the lower part of the castle are the prison 
cells, which look far more gloomy and uninviting than did the Val- 
ladolid printing office, and afforded me the consolation of realizing 
the fact that I had not been an inhabitant of the worst place on top 
of the earth — for men are apt to reason by comparison. No defense 
was made by the enemy at Perote, notwithstanding the strength of 
the place, and the army under Gen. Scott were enjoying peaceable 
possession of the fortress, and preparing to take up the line of march 
for Puebla, on the 25th of May. 

Between Perote and Jalapa, we passed the splendid hacienda of 
Santa Anna, situated a short distance from, but within plain view of, 



IN MEXICO. (^ 

the road. The estate is a very extensive one, delightfully situated, 
and is said to be the favorite retreat of the dictator. 

The distance from Perote to Jalapa is thirty-three miles. After 
passing over five miles of smooth road, handsomely paved or flagged, 
we reached this picturesque city on the evening of the 24th. Ja- 
lapa is justly celebrated for the beauty of its women, and its profusion 
of fruits and flowers. It is located on the back-bone of a ridge, re- 
ceding to the east and west, and so steep and tortuous are the streets, 
that a carriage can only pass along the main road. The houses are 
built of stone, and are of the most tasteful architecture — the only 
public building of importance is the convent of San Francisco, from 
the tower of which is a splendid view of the city of Vera Cruz and. 
the Gulf of Mexico, sixty-six miles distant. It contains 12,000 in- 
habitants, and is among the most pleasant, healthy, and beautiful 
cities in Mexico, After the battle of Cerro Gordo, the authorities 
received the victorious conquerers in a most hospitable manner. 

From the village of Las Viegas, a few miles east from Perote, to 
Vera Cruz, the road descends more than 7,000 feet. Leaving Jalapa 
early in the morning and after alternately climbing over hills and 
sinking into ravines, we soon came upon the battle-ground of Cerro 
Gordo, situated nearly midway between that city and the National 
Bridge. The scene of this great triumph of American arms is a 
sort of double ridge, on the summit of the western elevation of 
which the enemy was fortified. So that to make a successful attack, 
our army had first to rush down a precipice, then climb to the brow 
of a succeeding one, in the very mouth of the cannon of the enemy. 
The history of this fierce and desperate conflict, and the amusing 
manner in which Santa Anna decamped, leaving his carriage, pre- 
served meats, and flavored Havanas, like Joseph's, at Vittoria, to the 
spoil of the victors, is well known to the country; yet the unspeaka- 
ble horrors which surrounded the scene even a month after the en- 
gagement can scarcely be conceived. The gorge of the ravine was 
clogged up with the half-naked bones of the dead bodies of the flow- 
er of the Mexican army, over which black clouds of buzzards were 
hovering, eager for the banquet. The enemy had no time to halt to 
perform the last sad duty for their fallen comrades, and while some 
were left as food for the vulture, others who had been so wounded as 
to be unable to escape, had been taken to the hospitals, where iheir 
agonizing groans fell upon the ear like low, hollow sounds from the 
charnel-house. The Mexican cannot face danger and meet death 
like the Yankee. He may possess that impetuosity which is suffi- 
cient only to impel him to a single and desperate charge, but he has 
not the lasting courage, to meet the fatigues and dangers of a tedi- 
ous conflict, where men are required to overcome natural obstacles, 
and rush onward while death is raining among their ranks. And 
even after the excitement of the battle, when the blood becomes cool, 
and the energies relaxed — a time when the sick and wounded are 
expected to murmur and complain — while the American bears his 



98 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

sufferings with a manly fortitude, the poor Mexican, in his misery, 
will be found raving like a maniac. 

The Puente Nacional, or National Bridge, across the Antigua riv- 
er, some thirty miles from Vera Cruz, is a massive work of stone. 
This was once a strong fortification, the ruins of which may yet be 
seen on the adjoining hills. About two miles on the other side of 
the bridge we saw the broken diligence of Col. Sowers, who was 
killed with seven of his escort, by a guerrilla party, on the day pre- 
vious to our passing the bridge. Col. Sowers was bearer of de- 
spatches from Washington to Gen. Scott. 

The National road, leading from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico, 
is a thoroughfare which would be creditable to the enterprise of any 
country ; it is broad, generally well graded, and McAdamized. Pass- 
ing through Santa Fe, a small village on a stream about ten miles 
from Vera Cruz, we arrived at the latter place early in the evening 
of May 2G. The train with which I came from Puebla consisted 
of fifty-six men. 

As no vessel was to leave Vera Cruz for some days, I awaited 
the arrival of the James L. Day, Capt. Wood. The vomilo n'as 
raging among several companies of volunteers. The war-worn vet- 
era-ns from Illinois were there, straggling back in squads from Cer- 
ro Gordo, and they presented a most sad appearance. They looked 
like any thing else than " revelers in the halls of the Montezumas," 
and worn down by sickness and fatigue, were the mere shadows of 
men. Among their trophies was a splendid brass six-pounder, to be 
sent to the State of Illinois as a present in token of the gallantry of 
her sons. 

Vera Cruz extends more than two miles olong the sandy coast of 
the Gulf. It was once the greatest commercial city on the Ameri- 
can continent, but is now left far in the rear of many rivals, having 
dechned since the revolution with Spain. Its streets are well paved, 
and seemed quite cleanly. The walls of the city are constructed 
of coral rock, and are very thick, with a fort at each extremity of 
the water front, where parapet guns have been placed. The city 
contains a population of 8,000, and is supplied with water from cis- 
terns. The Governor's Palace in Vera Cruz is a fine public build- 
ing, but the plaza on which it is situated is the most diminutive I 
saw in any of the towns of Mexico. The city presented a sad and 
ragged picture, a large number of the buildings having been demol- 
ished during the bombardment. The distance from A^era Cruz to 
Mexico is 280 miles. 

The castle of San Juan de Ulloa is built on an island of rock, 
more than half a mile from the shore, fronting the city. The depth 
of the water between the island and the shore is many fathoms, so 
that vessels lie there in perfect safety. Boats are continually passing 
and re-passing between the island and the shore. The castle occu- 
pies the entire island, forming an enclosure of about twelve acres^ 
almost square. Massive walls of masonry compose the outer workSj 



la MEXICO. 99 

which are so high that inclined planes are constructed within, so as 
to facilitate the ascent of oxen with their heavy ordnance. There 
are, Avithin this enclosure, more than twenty fortresses, each inde- 
pendent of the other, and elevated above the outer wall. These for- 
tresses are mounted with batteries, and arranged so as not to interfere 
with each other when employed in the defense of the castle. The 
basements are occupied as stores, and in time of peace a lively trade 
is carried on. Thus the appearance of a small walled city is im- 
parted to the interior, with its paved side-walks, and stores. Should 
the enemy gain the outer wall, these store-rooms can be converted 
into batteries, by letting the guns down from above. Within the 
walls there are cisterns, sufficiently commodious to contain a year's 
supply of water, besides wells for the powder magazines, w^here that 
article is placed beyond the reach of bombs. The castle is said to 
have cost forty thousand dollars, and when built by Spain, was con- 
sidered impregnable. 

On the morning of June 3d, comfortably situated on the James 
L. Day, we pushed out into the Gulf, leaving the numerous spires 
of Vera Cruz to fade away in the horizon — and on the succeeding 
morning, upon going on deck, I found the " Day " anchored off the 
fairy-like island of Lobos, where she had been driven in the night 
by a slight gale. This island, about two miles in circumference, 
ten from the shore, and one hundred and forty miles from Vera 
Cruz, is formed entirely of coral, studded with banyan trees, and 
vines of luxuriant growth, covered with flowers of the most melliflu- 
ous odoi's. Taking an easterly direction from Lobos. the vessel ar- 
rived at New Orleans on the 10th of June, where, after an absence 
of fourteen months, and after traveling sixteen hundred miles through 
the interior of Mexico, I again found myself /ree, and on my native 
shores, quite satisfied with what I had seen of the elephant. 

I here learned that my friend Dr. Barry, with the Zacatecan pris- 
oners, had made his escape from Acapulco — that he had arrived in 
New Orleans some two months before me, where by letter he com- 
municated to my friends the first information they received of our 
fate. It is presumed that Mr. Cunningham is yet where I left him, 
in Valladolid, amusing himself with the Spaoish type, and the fair 
Policarpa; at least I have had no intelligence from him, since the 
memorable night of my unceremonious elopement. 

It may be thought strange that I did not attempt to facilitate his 
escape, at the time of my own departure. But the reader must re- 
collect that I have already stated the fact of our occupying separate 
rooms, and in such an adventure I might myself have been detect- 
ed. Besides, it was a question in my mind, whether he would be 
willing to resign his dear senontaj for nothing so domesticates a man 
as love. 



100 DONNAVAN'^S ADVENTURES 



CHAPTER XV. 

MEXICO-EXTENT OF TERRITORY— SOrL-CLIMx\TE-MAGUEY PLANT— COCHI- 
NEAL -VANILLA -COTTON AND SUGAR— POTATOES -CHILI -TIMBER - 
VVATER-TOBACCO-COMMERCE-CONaUEST-REVOLUTION-INDEPENDENCE 
-INFLUENCE AND WEALTH OF THE PRIESTHOOD-SANTA ANNA-GEN. AL- 
MONTE-GOMEZ FARIAS-GEN. HERRERA-SENOR ALEMAN-EUUCATION— 
THE WAR-MANNER OF CONDUCTING IT-DESTlNY. 

The Republic of Mexico is composed of twenty provinces, or 
states — Taniaulipas, New Leon, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Sonora and 
Sinaloa, Durango, Jalisco, Aguescalientes, Zacatecas, San Luis Po- 
tosi, Queretaro, Guanajuato', Mechoacan, Colima, Afexico, Fuebla, 
Vera Cruz, Oajaca, Tobasco, and Chiapas. Besides these might be 
included the dependencies of New Mexico and CaUfornia. — In ex- 
tent of territory they may be compared to the states of our union, 
though they are geiKjrally larger ; the whole extending from latitude 
16 to 33 i, and forming a line of coast on the Pacific and Gulf of 
California 3,000 miles in length, bounded on tlie east and north by 
the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio Grande. The distance from the 
shores of the Gulf to those of the Pacific varies from 1,000 to 120 
miles, including an area of some 1,600,000 square miles, and a popu- 
lation, according to their own estimate, of twelve millions. 

During his involuntary tour through the country, the author visited 
twelve of these provinces — Tamaulipas,New Leon, Coahuila, Zacate- 
cas, Aguescalientes, San Luis Potosi,. Guanajuato, Mechoacan, Quere- 
taro, Mexico, Puebla, and Vera Cruz, situated in the very heart and 
richest region of the republic, and presenting every variety of surface, 
soil, and climate. The two great chains of the Cordillera Mountains^ 
the Sierra Madre and Sierre Santa, being a continuation of the Andes 
of South America, diverging from the Isthmus, stretch across the 
country near its eastern and western borders, the former gradually 
dhninishing in the hills of Coahuila, while the latter continues and 
connects itself with the Rocky Mountains of Oregon. Between these 
two great ranges is included what is termed the table lands of Mexi- 
co, at an elevation of from 4,000 to 8,000 feet above the level of the 
sea. These table lands comprise over three-fifths of the whole terri- 
tory, although varying in altitude, frequently stretch out in broad 
plains and prairies, unsurpassed in fertility of soil. 

There has been so much said and written in regard to the climate 
of Mexico, that little can be added which will not assume the appear- 
ance of repetition. Yet those who have been beneath its sunnv skies 
and inhaled its balmy atmosphere, receive impressions differing im- 
materially in the abstract, and degrees of admiration ; while few can 
repress a disposition to record the emotions to which any warm and 
genial clime intuitively gives birth. 



IN MEXICO. 101 

In the construction of their dwellings, snch an appendage as a 
chimney, or fire-place, is not thought of, and the very necessary and 
essential domestic duty of cooking is performed out of doors, in the 
yard or streets. In the streets of all the cities the eye meets the 
daily spectacle of the poorer, houseless and homeless part of the 
population, cooking their scanty fare on small furnaces erected for the 
purpose. Tliis, more than any thing else, will serve to explain the 
nature of the temperature. 

The climate seems to be influenced more by altitude than latitude, 
the three grand divisions of elevation above the level of the sea, pre- 
senting in all parts of the country about the same degree of tempera- 
ture and producing the same species of vegetation. Between Vera 
Cruz and Perote, a distance of one hundred miles, almost the same 
variety and gradation of climate will be observed as in traveling from 
the equator to the arctic circle, that is, if one have the curiosity 
to ascend the snowy peak of Oraziba, near the latter place, the sum- 
mit of which is covered with perpetual snow. 

! Tierras Calientes includes the low lands on tlie coast, where the 
climate is excessively hot, and adapted to the production of sugar, 
colTee, indigo, cotton, rice, cocoa, cochineal, oranges, bananas, olives, 
and every variety of tropical fruits. To the decomposition of the rank 
vegetable substances of this region is attributed the cause of the epi- 
demic called vo??iito, so fatal to the health and life both of natives and 
visiters. 

Tierras Templadas includes the vast table lands, in which the 
climate seldom varies more than ten degrees during the entire round 
of the seasons, and where one eternal spring reigns unbroken. In 
less elevated portions of this region most of the tropical fruits are 
produced, though it is better adapted to such growths as corn, ma- 
guey, tobacco, chili, peaches, cherries, melons, strawberries, &c. 
Three and four crops of corn are here produced in one year, and as 
a consequence it is cultivated to a greater extent than any other grain, 
affording the chief article of food for the population. Green corn is 
to be seen as well in December, January, and February, as in June, 
July, and August, 

Tierras Frias is the still higher region, or mountain slopes, and 
subject to greater variations of temperature. Wheat, rye, oats, bar- 
ley, potatoes, &c., constitute the chief productions of this division, 
which is usually covered with large oak and pine timber, as high as 
twelve thousand feet above the level of the sea. 

Among the most remarkable productions of Mexico, with which 
we are unfamiliar in the United States, may be mentioned the ma- 
guey plant and cochineal. The maguey is produced in every degree 
of temperature, and is uninjured by heat, cold, or drought. In the 
best soil it grows to an enormous size, from twenty to thirty feet 
high, and will often measure around the trunk as much as three feet 
in circumference. It generally arrives to maturity in five years, in 
the tierras calitntes^ but in iha tierras frias it seldom ripens short of 



102 DONNAVAN'S ADVE^NTURES 

twenty years. After flowering, the top is cut off, the soft substance' 
or pulp removed from the interior, so as to form a kind of bowl, in 
which daily accumulates some two gallons of mucilaginous acid, dur- 
ing a period of live or six months. Upon fermentation this becomes 
Avhat is termed by the natives pulque, and which, by a process of 
distilation, is made into whisky. The population in many districts 
where there is no water, use this only, as a beverage. At first it has 
a most disgusting taste, and still worse smell, but one will soon be- 
come accustomed to it. From the fibrous substance contained in the 
bark and leaves of the maguey, paper, ropes, and even clothing, are 
sometimes manufactured. The root when properly prepared is a 
most palatable and nutritious diet ; while the thorns of its leaves 
serve as pins for the ladies' garments. The maguey is regarded as 
the most profitable growth in the country; and where alone culti- 
vated, on extensive haciendas, often yields a yearly income to the 
proprietors of $ 50,000. 

Cochineal is a production of the nopal, a plant of the cactus spe- 
cies, which is cultivated in rows like Indian corn. On every leaf of 
the nopal is pinned a short piece of hollow cane, in which a number 
of the insects are confined, where, as they multiply, the young ones 
crawl out and take up a permanent residence on the leaf of their 
nativity, upon which they feed. At the close of the dry season these 
insects are brushed from the dead leaves and dried. The cochineal 
is an insect little larger than a common tick, and in early times was 
supposed to be the seed of the plant — it is used in dyeing silks, for 
which the female is alone valuable, and is in some of the provinces of 
Mexico extensively raised for exportation. Vanilla, which is used 
in the manufacture of chocolate, to impart the flavor, is also cultivated 
to some extent. 

The table lands of Mexico will produce almost every species of 
vegetation, in a higher state of perfection and greater abundance than 
any other portions of the North American continent ; yet seduced by 
the great wealth of her mineral resources, the population bestow little 
attention to agriculture. Cotton and sugar will, doubtless, at some 
future day, form the staple productions of these lands, which, with 
the exception of an occasional sandy desert, under proper cultivation, 
might be made to yield abundant harvests. As yet neither of those 
articles have been grown to a suflicient extent to supply the home 
demand — the cotton crop never exceeding 90,000 bales. The low 
lands are well adapted to the production of rice, and if ever culti- 
vated extensively, will perhaps be appropriated to that purpose. 

"What is usually called the Irish potatoe, is a native of Mexico, and 
was first found there after the discovery of America. It has a pro- 
lific yield, but the varieties are not so numerous as in this country, 
where attention has been given to its improvement and culture. 

Chili^ the small red pepper, grows spontaneously, and is also cul- 
tivated as an indispensable article of diet. An almost inconceivable 
amount of it is consumed by the inhabitants, who devour the pods 



IN MEXICO. 



103 



by the dozen, in their primitive state, besides using it in nearly every 
dish they eat. 

In most regions the timber is of a low, shaggy growth, though 
groves of pine, cedar, cypress, and oak, are often to be found grow- 
ing as large as in any country. Such a spectacle as a rail fence never 
meets the eye — the in,closures all being made of hedge, for which 
most of the stunted, thorny growth, and maguey, seems purposely 
adapted, the contrast between the long lines of deep tangled shrub- 
bery and vines, decked with wild flowers, and the dull, lifeless-look- 
ing raU fences of the United States, deeply impresses one with ad- 
miration for the former. 

I was not prepared to find water so plentiful as it really is, from 
the accounts I had previously read of the country; and in only one 
instance, during our entire journey, did I suffer from thirst. This 
was in a sandy desert in Coahuila, where we found no water in three 
days travel. Rain seldom falls in Mexico except in July, Auo-ust, and 
September ; these months are called the rainy season, during which 
time a large amount of water falls in showers, or steady rains, of al- 
most daily occurrence. As a consequence, artificial irrigation be- 
comes necessary, but there are few districts of any considerable 
extent whicli could not, by the construction of simple hydraulic 
works, be sufficiently supplied with water, the only manure required, 
to produce at least one hundred and fifty bushels of corn to the single 
acre, annually. 

Large quantities of tobacco is produced in many of the provinces 
but this is a government monopoly, the leaf, when cured and baled, 
being purchased of the growers at a price fixed by the government. 
It is collected in ware-houses in the different districts, and conveyed 
to the capital, where a segar manufactory, sufficiently extensive to 
supply that article to the whole population, is carried on under the 
supervision of the government. 

Notwithstanding the immense wealth of the country, its commerce 
is limited and diminutive. Its chief exports are confined to the pre- 
cious metals, furnished from some twenty or thirty mining districts 
and which have produced annually from 20 to 25 million dollars in 
gold and silver. An inconsiderable trade has been carried on in the 
article of cochineal, indigo, logwood, jalap, and vanilla, but inclu- 
ding all, the annual exports have never risen above $20,000,000 
while the imports have never exceeded $15,000,000. Owing to the 
vascillating cliaracter of the government, and the inordinate thirst for 
gold, which has always characterized its officers and people, and 
which still exists, an immense contraband trade, so fatal to legitimate 
commerce, is kept up, under every change of rulers. Large amounts 
of bullion from Zacatecas and other mining districts, are smuo-o-jed 
out of ports on the Pacific, while various articles of merchandise 
from foreign countries are received with unblushing impunity, through 
the bribery and the infidelity of custom-house officers, whose ideas 



104 



DONNAVAN'g ADVENTURES 



of "tariff" and "free trade" are of such convenience as generally to 
conform to their own interests. 

The precise amount of the population of Mexico is difficult to de- 
termine. At present the inhabitants estimate it at from ten to twelve 
millions, though no census has been taken for a number of years. The 
inhabitants are made up of almost every color-. The pale face main- 
tains its aristocracy among all, although the negroes are allowed to 
vote. Few of the male population are to be found without the tinge 
of a fair mulatto, though his blood be pure, which is attributed to the 
influence of the climate and atmosphere. The ladies of pure blood are 
often very nearly as fair as our own. The white population is not 
numerous, and will not amount to over one million in the whole 
country. Descending one degree below the white is the Mestizoe, 
made up of a great variety, white, Indian, and negro. Of this class 
there is over three millions. Next is the Zamboo, a progeny of the 
Indian and negro, which class, with the Indians, negroes, and quar- 
teroons make up the balance of the population. Of the negro race 
there is not over one hundred thousand, while the Indians, who art; 
often the best citizens of the country, number five millions. Thp: 
difference in the dialects of the people in the different provinces, is 
about the same as that in the shires of England — and it is sometimes 
with difficulty that they can understand each other. 

It has been no part of the author's object to enter into the early 
history of Mexico. To those who desire such a work, reliable in fact 
and detail, he would recommend that of Dr. Youxg, recently issued. 
The early conquest of Mexico by Cortez is a familiar story even tc 
our school-boy days. The city of golden idols, human hecatombs, a 
populous empire, and the overthrow of the unfortunate Montezuma, 
has often risen up to our vision like the incredible and enchanted 
scenes of the Arabian Knights. The country was then inhabited by 
the aborigines, who had So far advanced in civilization as to build a 
greater and more splendid city than now occupies its place. — the work 
of their conquerers. In 1521, v^^hen Spain in her turn, enjoyed her 
proud supererogative of power, the banners of her cross floated in 
triumph from the heathen temples of the natives, who, knowing 
nothing better or sublim.er to adore, worshipped the sun, as their more 
enlightened but heartless invaders did the living God. For three 
hundred years her power thus attained, was acknowledged and re- 
spected in the colony by a people, who, accustomed only to the ty- 
ranny of rulers, and living in an enervating climate — occupying a 
country whose wealth was beyond computation — were lured into 
ease and luxury — who, with no impetus to stimulate their energies, 
and mingling promiscuously with the aborigines, gradually retro- 
graded in the scale of intelligence, till they began more to represent 
the natives they had vanquished, than the conquerers from whom they 
were descended. That there were exceptions — men who thought 
and felt that their country was retrograding, rather than advancing 
with the spirit of the age and times, is doubtless true — but they were 



IN MEXIC* 



105 



allied more to the slavery of the church, than to civil liberty. Stimu- 
lated by sorae motive, for the purity of which his own soul is perhaps 
responsible, in 1810, the slight murmurs of insurrection which were 
kindling to a flame, burst into open revolt through Don Minguel Hi- 
dalgo, a Catholic priest of Dolores ; who, at the head of a large army, 
faised under the standard of the " Virgin of Gaudaloupe," commenc- 
ed the work which finally resulted in emancipating his country from 
:he thraldom of Spanish rule. He miet the fate which all pioneers in 
a great cause are almost certain to encounter. After a short career, 
in which his success was brilliant, he was betrayed and beheaded. 
Other Generals arose in his place, among whom may be mentioned 
Morelos, Guerrero, Victoria, and Matamoras, and for a period of near- 
ly three years a fierce and sanguinary war pervaded throughout the 
land. But from 1813 to 1820, peculiar circumstances operated to re- 
tard the progress of the country towards independence, to lengthen 
out their struggle with Spain, and to produce opposite parties, divi- 
sions in sentiment, chimerical or false principled notions, and even 
the horrors of civil war itself The vast territory was, and is even. 
yet, thinly inhabited, by a population -confined principally to the towns 
and cities, then divided into capitanias, or viceroyalties, having little 
or no mutual communication, or means of concerting combined resist- 
ance to Spain. The people themselves, as a body, being deplorably 
ignorant, and divided into numerous castes, all of whom opposed 
each other, either from feeling or interest, could not unite in a com- 
mon cause. Yet they had all contracted a habit of obeying Spanish 
princes; for no where had the maxim of passive obedience and the 
divine right of kings been so earnestly inculcated by all the power 
of the priesthood. Second only to the clergy, in means of influence, 
were the Castilians, or European Spaniards, whose power and riches 
were, of course, actively engaged in sustaining the authority of Spain; 
and by engrossing all the important offices, they deprived the Creoles, 
or those of Mexican birth, of any opportunity for obtaining the requi- 
site qualifications for public employments. Such are the gradual 
encroachments of tyranny, tamely submitted to, that were it unre- 
stricted by a mightier power, would steal away both body and soul. 
Besides, Mexico had so long enjoyed a profound peace that its inhab- 
itants possessed little more military knowledge than did the Aztec race, 
whom their ancestors had dethroned. They were even destitute of 
arms and munitions of war ; all these being in the arsenals of the gov- 
ernment, or in the hands of the small body of troops, which it maintain- 
ed in convenient stations upon the sea-coast. Owing to these unfor- 
tunate circumstances in their condition, they had the whole structure 
of independence to begin from its very foundation. Those who are 
familiar with the history of the revolution in Mexico, and in the sev- 
eral governments of South America, will readily call to mind the 
untoward events produced by the circumstances here adverted to. 
Yet in the dark hours of their adversity, the free world did not fail 
to sympathise with them, and numbers of our own countrymen left 



105 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

their homes and firesides to join them in their struggle for independ- 
ence. In fact, perhaps no other circumstance exercised so powerful 
an influence to prompt the thinking and well informed inhabitants of 
Mexico to long for liberty, as the example of the United States of 
North America. It was truly a most brilliant and alluring spectacle, 
that of a new people rending asunder the strong ties that had bound 
them to England, and who had rendered themselves independent — 
who, organized as a great republic, enjoyed the most perfect liberty 
which man can possess in the social state — who, under wise and bena- 
iicent institutions, had prospered and augmented with astonishing ra- 
pidity — who, in fine, were Americans-, more recently settled on the 
continent than those who held the soil in Mexico, and who seemed des- 
tined to the same high career with their brethren of the North, could 
they but establish their independence of Spain. It vv^as impossible that 
these ideas should not spread with celerity among intelligent Mexi- 
cans, and that they should not prepare the elen^ents of a wide con- 
flagation. 

After a struggle of eleven years, through the disorganization of 
the mother country itself, Mexico became independent — independent 
of Spain, yet their emancipation brought with it little else than con- 
fusion and anarchy. The want of intelligence, of population, of re- 
sources, made several provinces mere dead limbs for a union, even 
had one been contemplated ; and a Central government, entitl-ed the 
" Plan of Iguala," was adopted ; and through dissentions among the 
demagogical leaders of factions, Iturbide, by his own intrigues, sus- 
tained by the influence of the church, ascended the throne. He had 
not long worn his " royal robes," however, till in his turn he was 
compelled not only to abdicate his place, but was banished from his 
country, and finally executed on his return in 1824. In the same 
year, what is called the federal constitution was adopted, modeled 
principally from that of the United States, excluding the provision 
Avhich recognizes the right of trial by jury, and establishing a pro- 
vision recognizing the Catholic as the only religion of the country. 
It entitles all citizens of whatever grade or color, to the right of suf- 
frage — ^yet this is a mere formality — a mockery to the sovereignty of 
the mass, where the church wields the supreme power. The priest- 
hood of Mexico, including the monks and nuns, amounts to about. 
ten thousand persons, and the combined wealth of the clergy is esti- 
mated at $200,000,000. No chapel dedicated to any othei- faith is 
to be found or suffered to exist in the country, and the Catholic priest- 
hood have unlimited control of both soul and body. Owning more 
than half of the property and wealth of the country, they are of 
course entitled to the exercise of the priyilege entailed upon their pos- 
sessions, of giving to the people theiri manners and morals; and to 
their examples in the cities, may be justly attributed many of the 
vices which prevail among their ignorant followers. To repeat here 
the profligate indulgencies attributed to the city priesthood, would be 
too great an infringement upon all rules of modesty ; yef their licea- 



IN MEXICO. 107 

tiousness is no more a secret there, than the open and unblushing 
manner in which they visit the degraded haunts of gaming houses, 
cafes, and other resorts of infamy, to sanction their corruptions and 
participate in their amusements. 

It is proper to remark, that the curas, or country clergy, sustain 
quite the opposite character from their city brethren; and besides 
being pious and devotional in their habits, exercise a kind of moni- 
torial supervision over those placed under their pastoral charge, and 
who regard them with a high degree of veneration — asking and fol- 
lowing their advice in all things. Indeed, the conduct of many of 
the curas is characterized by a degree of generosity and kindness to 
the poor, worthy to be imitated in our own enlightened land. 

It is a great mistake in those who have propagated the idea, that 
the clero-y of the city of Mexico court the approach of the American 
army as a means of security to their church treasures. If there is 
a\-\y thing sacred in the eyes of a Mexican (a problem which has not 
yet been satisfactorily solved), be he ranchero, brigand, or lepero, 
it is his religion and the property of his church. Whatever may 
have been the revolutions — whatever may be — the church has been, 
and will continue to be, safe from direct spoliation. 

We may talk as we please of Mexico, and sticklers entertaining 
circumscribed views, may deplore as they will her loss of independ- 
ence and nationality — yet what is that independence, what that na- 
tionality? The only independence studied is, how to live independent 
of lahor^ while their nationality is in the hands of demagogues, en- 
tertaining no sympathy for the ignorant mass, and who would sell 
their country, rather than submit to innovations recognizing an 
equality of rights. In looking upon the Mexican race as it now ex- 
ists, knowing nothing of it, one would be tempted to ask, by what 
accident of birth or circumstance, they exhibit so grotesque a char- 
acter in so serious a drama — at first contending for empire and honor, 
then for independence and nationality ! This apparent inconsistency 
is all explained, however, upon acquiring a knowledge of their con- 
dition. Their government, as it has ever been, since the date of the 
revolution, is without energy — without stability — destitute of moral 
honesty and means. Party spirit, unlike the cool and calculating col- 
lisions of sentiment which often agitate our own body politic, divides 
her citizens — discord waves her incendiary torch — anarchy and con- 
fusion exists among themselves, and their soldiery are left unprovided 
and uncared for ; as the church, being the treasury, can make no 
disbursements till it ascertains which is the stronger and most likely 
to succeed of the factions. The monster, party spirit, so rocked and 
cherished in the cradle of their revolution, is now grown to full man- 
hood, and convulses all who are at all susceptible to such influences; 
and the invasion of their territory, which should bring out all the pa- 
triotic energies of man, has best convinced the world of their weak- 
ness, egotism, cowardice, and truculence, according to the various 
changes of the scenes. 



108 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES 

Santa Anna has long been the ruling spirit of the land, and \vith 
all his cruelty and pomposity, possesses a stronger intellect and a 
more perfect knowledge of the nature and disposition of his people, 
than any man in Mexico. His prominent trait of character has 
seemed to be to create expectations which he never intended to fulfill, 
but possessing the tact to turn every thing to his advantage in the 
end, has been the secret of his success. He is known to be a deceiv- 
er, yet he knows how to deceive, and where there is a total lack of 
confidence in all, the choice among rogues generally devolves upon 
the most accomplished among them. 

Gen. Almonte, who was arrested and confined in prison last May, 
in his own country, on a pretended charge of having compromised 
his position, by making certain disclosures and overtures to the United 
States, is the first, in point of ability, and perhaps the only honest 
public man in Mexico. Almonte has spent much of his life in this 
country, and was long the minister of Mexico to our government at 
Washington. He is the illicit son of Morelos, one of the most dis- 
tinguished of the revolutionary Generals, who fell in the defense of 
his country. His intellect is highly cultivated, and he possesses all 
the qualities of a polished gentleman. 

Gomez Farias, the scenes of whose life and career have been che- 
quered with events much after the fashion of Santa Anna, is a man 
of deep thought. The cause of his being superceded by Anaya as 
Provisional President, was owing to his proposition to tax the church 
property. Had he been sustained in making his proposed levies, the 
Mexican government would have presented a more vigorous resist- 
ance at Vera Cruz — a more numerous and better provided army at 
Buena Vista — a more effective plan and a more vigorous defense 
at Cerro Gordo, and altogether a far more serious resistance than has 
attended the overthrow of Farias and his plans. 

Gen. Herrera, recently a prominent candidate for the presidency, is 
a great favorite of the church party, and in the absence of Santa An- 
na would doubtless exercise a controlling influence. During the can- 
vass he was represented as the peace candidate, but would in the 
event of his elevation be subject to the control of the clergy. 

Senor Aleman is among the most influential men in the country, 
especially among the priesthood, over which he exercises almost ab- 
solute control. Reports were currently circulated, that Aleman, m be- 
half of the church, had opened a correspondence with the European 
powers, in regard to forming an alliance, by which some prince from 
the other side of the water was to be elevated to the throne of Mex- 
ico. Reports and surmises of this character are often the result of 
political speculators, though this was sufficiently plausible to receive 
general credence, and seemed to surprise no one in Mexico. 

Generals Ampudia, Arista, Ricon, Bravo, &c., are men of credit- 
able capacities, but possess none of those prominent traits of charac- 
ter calculated to distinguish them, with all their opportunities. 

Generals Sallus, Valencia, Requina, and a host of others, consti- 



IN MEXICO. 109 

tute the third class of the "great men" of the republic, and who 
have perhaps never imbibed an idea beyond their individual prefer- 
ment and egotistical self-conceit. 

It should not be supposed that among the private circles of society 
in Mexico, there are no men of cultivated manners, refined taste, and 
profound intellect. This would be an anomoly indeed, in a popula- 
tion of at least 10,000,000. As profound scholars, as accomplished 
g-entlemen, and as hospitable hearts may here be found as in almost 
any quarter of the globe ; yet their number is comparatively limited, 
and out of the entire population, perhaps not one hundred thousand, 
or one of every one hundred, can read. Here lies the great secret of 
their misfortunes ; and it is not an uncommon spectacle in all the ci- 
ties, to see among the multitudes who crowd the streets, confidential 
scribes, supplied with a stool and writing apparatus, whose business it 
is to indite letters to order for the ignorant population who keep them 
profitably employed. There are no schools for the mass ! 

Under such a state of things what apparent folly it seems to be, 
among our tenacious politicians of any party, to grieve about the dis- 
memberment of a neighboring republic ! However the war may 
terminate, God has doubtless designed it for the accomplishment of 
his own high purposes. If any part of those purposes be to open a 
new era upon this China of the new world, it is already accomplish- 
ed in embryo. That philanthropy which would prescribe the bless- 
ings of enlightened liberty to certain limits, deserves not the name ; 
and there is a narrow selfishness far behind the age, in the policy 
which would justify us in the tame enjoyment of the freest govern- 
ment on earth, while our nearest neighbors are sunk in the very 
depths of ignorance and vice — not even permitted to choose a God 
to worship ! That the v/ar has cost treasures, perils, and lives, no 
one will deny — yet it will produce new treasures, happiness, and new 
life! 

The justness or the injustice of the war is a fit subject for politi- 
cians to quarrel about, and may be decided by those whose knowl- 
edge of international law will qualify them to render a satisfactory 
verdict ; though the propriety of arguing the question, and openly 
advocating the cause of the enemy during the existence of hostilities, 
may be doubted. 

The expediency of such a course of conduct is certainly question- 
able ; for among an enemy who knovv^ nothing of our institutions, 
and who very naturally judge the dispositions of men and govern- 
ments by comparisons at home, arrive at the very plausible conclusion, 
that serious dissensions exist; and but for this simple fact, there is 
little doubt that the war, so much regretted by these very men, would 
now have been terminated. Like most foreigners, they misconceive 
the nature of our institutions. They are not aware that our internal 
battles consist only of a " war of words," and that an American edi- 
tor or representative may give free utterance to his individual views, 
while reason and the fiat of an intelligent constituency are left free to 



110 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES , 

combat and correct them. Very different is the state of things in 
Mexico ; while dissensions really exist among her people, nothing is 
to be heard but vapor, boast, and fume, and to read their manifestos, 
the natural conclusion would be that they are the most warlike and 
unconquerable people under heaven. Those who really favor peace, 
and in truth a large portion of the better class Avould rejoice in the 
occupation of the country by our people — seldom give audible utter- 
ance to their sentiments — fearing that they might be reasoned with 
in a rather summary manner. Hence, those ignorant of the facts, 
conclude that there is no peace party in Mexico, and that the voice 
of all is for open war. Their papers and proclamations are filled 
with predictions of future victories, to the utter exclusion of present 
defeats, and while they seem, with one accord and one heart, to pro- 
claim their own invincible determination never to surrender, they 
seldom face their adversaries, and never without disastrous defeat. 

To one who has been over the battle-grounds, traversed the inte- 
rior country, suffered with the many who have suffered, and become 
familiar with all the important circumstances of the present war, the 
manner in which it has been conducted presents itself without a sin- 
gle mark of sagacity. It would seem that it has been prolonged for 
110 visible object, except to create patronage for partisans ; though for 
the credit of humanity such a motive should not be attributed lo its 
prosecutors, [t is much easier to prophecy after we have been ap- 
prised of events which are to transpire, and one can look back upon 
his errors with far greater facility than he can distinguish and cor- 
rect them in the future. But the policy of sending two small armies 
into the wild regions of New Mexico and the Rio Grande, without 
a sufficient force to retain possession of the country after it was con- 
quered, and for the apparent object of affording only an opportunity 
for brilliant exploits, in conquering a half-barbarous race, and then 
leaving them to resume their power and places, is totally inexplica- 
ble, both before and after its adoption. 

When hostilities first commenced, the true wisdom of legislation 
would have suggested the raising of fifty thousand volunteers, who 
were then offering their services to the government in countless 
regiments ; all of whom could have been landed at Vera Cruz in 
October (1846). Such an army, levying contributions on the coun- 
try for its support, might have marched at once to the capital, and 
subdued the country at half the cost, both in blood and treasure. 
Instead of such a vigorous prosecution of the war, to a speedy ter- 
mination, a sort of tampering policy has been pursued, and our 
forces have moved with a degree of tardiness, inducing one to forget 
that Napoleon had so recently instructed the world in the art of 
warfare. These halting, timid, undetermined movements, inspire 
the enemy with renewed confidence ; and after a continued conflict 
of nearly twenty months — sufficient time for us to have whipped all 
Europe — Mexico bids fair to exhibit one of those horrible catastro- 
phes which stand out boldly and distinct in the annals of human 



IN MEXICO. m 

calamity. The agitated condition of the country since 1810, has 
bred her public men in the school of turmoil, and they have learned 
to look upon scenes of blood with comparative complacency. With 
their last hopes staked, they may not be deterred by any considera- 
tion of social consequences ; and with an object akin to that of the 
desperado, they would cheerfully blow up the strong holds of our 
army as they enter, and involve in one common ruin the conquerers 
and the conquered. 

There is much speculation in regard to the result of the present 
war, and notwithstanding little doubt hangs over the final issue, the 
proclamation of a guerrilla warfare, giving authority to every score 
of ruffians to concert their own plans — make their own attacks, and 
murder without regard to age, sex, or condition, may prolong it to 
an almost indefinite period, unless a new degree of energy shall be 
infused into the American forces. 

But it requires no extraordinary gift of prophecy to foretell the 
consequences that are inevitably to result — they can be none other 
than the subjugation of the country. Mexico is already by the hand 
of fate blotted out of the list of nations. The lamp which lit up the 
brief hour of her independence is burnt down to the socket : and 
whether "annexed" to this Union or not, torn and divided by intes- 
tine commotions, she can never withstand the shock which will not 
only depose her military despots, but arouse her people from the Rip 
Van Winkle slumber of their ignorance. He who thinks that a 
lasting and beneficial peace can be made with that country, knows 
little of Mexico, or of her people — he starts in his belief from false 
premises — and judges of a race by the ordinary rules which govern 
mankind — when it is notorious that they have ceased to regard all 
such rules, and have hurled them at utter defiance. 

The growing greatness and energy of the Anglo-Saxon race, 
which is destined speedily to overrun the whole of North America, 
will soon occupy the vast tierre tempaladcs of Mexico. And they 
will carry liberty with them — not in name, but in fact — and the in- 
fluence of their example will impart a tone of vigor to the efl'orts 
even of the humblest individual. They will give confidence to 
thought, and energy to action. This is by no means a visionary 
speculation, but will be realized, as in the natural course of events 
things assume the shape of realities; and before ten years shall trans- 
pire, steam cars, which would be regarded by the present population 
with as much wonder as was the thundering artillery of Cortez by 
the natives, will take the place of their caravans of pack-mules, and 
"Yankee clock pedlars" instead of guerrilla bands, will throng the 
mountain paths of the Cordillera. Our people will have seen its re- 
sources and there can be no restraint placed upon their enterprize. 

Under the control of the United States or the Anglo-Saxon, and in 
the full enjoyment of liberty and security, its extended plains, which 
now repose in peace, would stretch out before the eye like gardens 
magnified immeasurably. The loneliness of the vast forest, conse- 



112 DONNAVAN'S ADVENTURES IN MEXICO. 

crated for ages to solitude and God, would echo the voices of new 
and more ardent admirers of their never dying foliage. Its cities 
would swarm with active and industrious New England mechanics, 
the music of whose implements would wake the slumbering ener- 
gies even of the dull and plethoric jpean. A canal, connecting the 
two great oceans, would stretch across the Isthmus of Tehmantepec, 
concentrating within the Northern hemisphere the commerce of the 
globe. Through the huge and rugged mountains, that rise up like 
stepping stones to heaven, railroad cars would roll with the light- 
ning's speed, the rich treasures of the land to the lap of trade. And 
as the soul of the sunny clime became steeped in sublime thought, 
vvhich the boundless and magnified variety of its natural scenery is 
fitted to call into being — when the heart is entirely imbued with the 
influence of republican institutions, and when the mind of this land, 
springing from its new myriad sources, shall grow up from its pres- 
ent night of infancy to manhood, glowing with an ardent perception 
of the unrivalled beauties of the clime, it will burn on, bright and 
unwasting, forever. 



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109 illain Street, abom ®l)irlr, Cincinnati. 

HAVE JUST PUBLISHED, 

THE 

BANDITS OF THE OSA&E. 

A WESTERN ROMANCE. 

BY EMERSON BENNETT, 

AUTHOR OF THE " LEAGUE OF THE MIAMI," " UNKNOWN COUNTESS," " SILVER BIRD," 

AND OTHER TALES. 

The Bandits of the Osage is professedly a Western Romance. It was the in- 
tention of the author to make it such, and he chose such location and characters 
as he thought best suited to the task. "We are introduced immediately to the 
wild Osage country in Missouri, where the very life of western romance is 
buried. We step into regions where fancy paints the towering mounLain, the 
"entle plain and the sea-like undulation of intervening space. In this almost 
fairy scene appear characters — the rough pioneers of civilization. A more ex- 
traordinary and romantic race cannot be found on the globe ! Well has our 
author chosen in numbers and feelings the personages who figure before the rea- 
der in that stage — the pioneer days of a now civilized country. These charac- 
ters represent many countries and parts of countries. The honest New England 
family, the English lord and lady, the renegade Jew, the gentle southern, the low 
cunning of rude society, the outlaw, the bold, the daring, the honest, the loving 
and the serving, with all the incident of juxtaposition naturally arising from pas- 
sion, are presented. So much incident, attended and so nicely interwoven in a 
pleasing plot, gives to the "Bandits of the Osage," a peculiar characteristic. 
There is nothing improbable in the whole relation. Time, distance and history, 
in many particulars are correctly stated, and the write;* of this knows from au- 
thentic sources that that part of this romance which some may question, is strictly 
true. The fiction of the production will be readily believed while the reality 
may not be. 

0::^ This great Romance originally appeared in the columns of the " Cincin- 
nati Commercial," for which it was expressly written, and from the proprietors 
of which the author received the handsome prize of five hundred dollars. So 
great, however, was the demand, that a large surplus of back numbers was soon 
exhausted, and an edition in book form was resolved upon. 

The present publishers take great pride in being able to present this admirable 
picture of western life in a preservable shape. 

Orders from the trade and the public generally are solicited. Five copies will 
le mailed to any address for $1,00 remitted postage prepaid. A twentrj-Jive cent 
piece may he enclosed^n a half sheet of paper and sent for single postage, and 
secure a copy of the* hocic, the postage on which will not he over six cents to any 
distance. 




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» J Booksellers, Pedlars and others, through recent arrangemnets, may obtain their supplifs from 
this point, loith greater advantage tJianfrom Eastern Agencies — our usual wholesale prices ranging 
quite as low as theirs, while the heavy expense of freigltt is saved. 



OUR OWN PUBLICATIONS. 

Recent experiments have satisfied us that books may be produced as cheap In Cincinnati as in 
New York and Philadelphia, and we are now perfecting arrangements to issue from our own 
presses ORIGINAL NOVELS by Popular Western Writers, and Reprints or Translations of 
the most approved Foreign works. 



Attached to our concern is one of the most complete Book and Job Printing OfSces, with eve- 
ry requisite material for producing, at short notice, works of any size or style. AUTHORS and 
EDITORS may make arrangements with us for issuing their productions on liberal terms. 

The Stock now on hand embraces the best collection of Books in Cheap Form, Magat'iiiea,* 
Newspapers, and other Publications, to be found in the United States. Country Merchants, 
Agents, the Trade, Strangers visiting the city, and the Public generally, will always find on our 
counter the latest issues from the press, either Eastern or Western. 

MAPS, TRAVELERS' GUIDES, 

PRINTS, SARLOR GAMES AND AMUSEMENTS 

CHILDREN'S TOY BOOKS, PONGSTERS, ETC. 



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ket prices, wholesale or retail. 

STATIONERY, of every variety, eclectcd with care from] thelarg«st Eastern Btoekr 



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